Taken: Second Player Takeover
by ToastTSA
Summary: He was a piece of the puzzle, a ploy in their plan. His situation caused him to only be a pawn on the board, a tool used by the mastermind that lead to no more than agony and distrust amongst friends. Feliciano could do nothing other than watch idly aside, praying for it to all end and for them to once again be free. 2p! Hetalia Story; 2p Italy, 2p Japan, 2p America, et cetera.
1. Chapter 1: Who's That Man in the Shadows

_Quick List o' Names just so you don't get confused!_

Luciano Vargas: N. Italy  
Leonardo Vargas: Romano/S. Italy  
Kaspar: Germany  
Lanzo Beilschmidt: Prussia  
Kuro Honda: Japan  
Sebastian Fernandez Carriedo: Spain  
Allan Jones: America  
Oliver Kirkland: England  
Jean (Pronounced John) Joc Bonnefoy: France  
Viktor Braginski: Russia  
Jian Wang: China  
Andrew Williams: Canada

Feliciano Vargas: N. Italy  
Lovino Vargas: Romano/S. Italy  
Ludwig: Germany  
Gilbert Beilschmidt: Prussia  
Honda Kiku: Japan  
Alfred F. Jones: America  
Arthur Kirkland: England  
Ivan Braginski: Russia  
Francis Bonnefoy: France  
Wang Yao: China  
Matthew Williams: Canada  
Roderich Edelstein: Austria  
Elizaveta Hedervary: Hungary  
Antonio Fernandez Carriedo: Spain

* * *

**CHAPTER ONE**

**Who's That Man in the Shadows?  
**

Feliciano wandered around the small mini mart, grabbing anything and everything he could possibly use in his pasta dinner. He bought bags of flour, cartons of eggs, and plenty of other ingredients that he would use in his special 'secret' sauce.

"Garlic, sugar, tomatoes..." he mumbled to himself as he surveyed the shelves. Whenever Feliciano was to go shopping, he'd often spend hours and hours on end in the store. He always tried to get the best ingredients he could possibly find, always wanting to make dinner a bit of a special occasion even if, in reality, it wasn't.

Feliciano happily hummed to himself as he skipped around the store. About thirty minutes later he had a basket full of ingredients. He carried it all the way to the checkout counter before putting the basket down. He placed his items on the conveyor belt and smiled at the clerk. He nodded in return and quickly went back to scanning everything and placing them in bags. This was one of those '15 or less' checkouts so it wasn't very busy. But because of this it also didn't have anyone else bagging things.

As Feliciano opened his wallet to pull out a couple of dollar bills, he suddenly felt like he was being watched. Feliciano wasn't exactly a very paranoid person. He didn't always think of things before they happened and thanks to this he usually just surrendered or ran away before anything got out of hand. But when he felt like he was being watched, he was usually correct. He looked around, beginning to scan the area briefly.

He quickly turned back around and handed the clerk the money. There were a couple of people behind him and he didn't intend to keep the line held up. He grabbed the couple of bags and stepped away from the counter. Looking around, he didn't realize that he had looked at the person multiple times. It wasn't until the clouds uncovered the sun that Feliciano managed to see a silhouetted figure.

He couldn't really make out their features. Barely any of their facial indentations were visible, all he could really identify were the seemingly glowing violet eyes and fez on the his head.

The man seemed to be staring right back at him; Feliciano quickly became uncomfortable. He turned to the door and rushed out, nearly colliding with a shopping cart full of waffles and soda.

"Sorry!" Feliciano blurted out before rushing back to his car.

Well, it wasn't exactly his car; It was Ludwig's old black BMW. He got a new one and since most of Feliciano's previous cars ended up in junk yards so he figured he could give that old one away. All it was really doing was collecting dust in the garage anyway.

And now if the car did end up in bust he could at least sell the scraps.

Feliciano unlocked the door and stepped inside, throwing the grocery bags to the passenger side. He closed the door and attempted to start up the car. But each time he tried to turn it on the engine started and shook the car for a moment then stopped, dying off. He turned the key multiple times, trying again and again but with no luck.

The car was dead.

He stepped out in an attempt to find the problem. It took him a moment to realize that he was standing in oil. He kneeled over and saw the pipes busted from underneath, multiple puncture wounds, likely from a screwdriver, being noticeable. Oil was pouring out of each and every one of them.

Feliciano stood up and pulled out his phone. He called Ludwig, the first person he ever would in a situation like this one. When he answered Feliciano started blabbering about what was going on.

"Germany! Germany! I'm at the supermarket and I just bought some stuff for pasta and I saw this guy and he was staring at me so I ran to my car and-" Feliciano was talking so fast Ludwig could barely understand him. He was about to speak up and tell Feliciano to slow down when the voice on the other end of the line suddenly cut off. He heard nothing except something collapsing aided with a bit of a crackle.

"Italy?" Ludwig asked nervously. He could hear something rustling and heavy breathing. Then the line went dead.


	2. Chapter 2: The Supermarket

Feli didn't see the dark shadow slowly growing behind him**. **Or the fist rising to strike him. It all had happened so fast. One moment he was talking to Ludwig, the next he was face down in the pavement.

The clouds darkened the sky, hiding the man as he bashed poor Feli into the back of the car. His head hit hard against the trunk, leaving a slight dent behind. There was no doubt in his mind that the fragile Italian would end up with a mark afterwards. The man struggled to subdue the Feliciano... Though half conscious, he still thrashed about in a desperate attempt to break free. But once he slipped into a headlock, it was only mere moments before his brain shut down and he was out.

It wasn't a surprise when the clouds completely covered the sky, and rain started to pour down from the heavens. It just allowed for a quicker escape. Lifted up over the attacker's shoulders, Feli was carried out of the parking lot and gone in a flash.

* * *

**CHAPTER TWO**

**The Supermarket**

Once the phone went dead he tried calling again.

And again.

And again.

A storm was brewing so he figured the signal was just bad. Three attempts later, Ludwig began to panic. The next world meeting was less than half an hour away. Ludwig figured Feliciano would probably end up meeting him there, and everything would be sorted out. He prayed that Feli was fine. They had been friends for quite some time now, and no matter how annoying or weak he was, he was still someone he found the need to protect.

And that was aside the constant threats from said Italian's older sibling.

Ludwig put away his phone and grabbed his car keys. His dogs crowded around his legs as he left. He put a couple of sausages in their bowls just so they had something to eat later before he was out the door and gone.

Ludwig arrived at the world meeting about five minutes before it was scheduled to start. Arthur and Francis were there, bickering, and Alfred was in the middle, trying to pick a fight with either of them. Kiku was quietly sitting at the other end near Yao and Gilbert. Ivan was poking Raivis and Eduard was trying to stay as far away as possible. Felix started acting a bit odd and Toris pleaded with him to stop.

"No Italy so far..." Ludwig murmured as he sat down in his seat. He was right next to Kiku who greeted him. "Hello Ludwig-san." Kiku said, Ludwig was just barely able to hear him though. The fight across the room started to exceeding to yells. It was only so long until fists would start flying. "Say Kiku, have you happened to see Feliciano today?" Kiku shook his head.

"I haven't seen him at all. Why, Is something wrong?" Ludwig was hesitant. He wasn't sure if he could tell Kiku what exactly was going on, purely because he wasn't even sure himself. He sighed.

"Ja. He called me earlier. He said something about a guy he saw. Before I could say anything he stopped talking and the line got cut off. I don't know what happened but I don't like it." The Japanese man nodded.

"It's probably just a misunderstanding. I'm sure Feliciano-kun is fine." Ludwig shrugged. He wasn't sure, but he sure hoped Kiku was correct.

The meeting started soon after, still no Italy. But it appeared that no one noticed, as they were too busy arguing. Alfred was stuffing his face with burgers while taunting Francis. Arthur was yelling, and Francis was making fun of both of them. Really it was all nothing very new. Most meetings started and ended just like this one.

Small conversations started sprouting around the room. Most people were used to the constant fights between the three and were able to either ignore them completely or stay far enough away so they can just barely hear them. Ludwig, unfortunately, was one of the few unable to do either of these things. Japan appeared unphased the whole time. The noises didn't appear to bother him and he kind of seemed to doze off.

Ludwig was slowly losing his patience. He tried his best to control the anger building up inside of him until eventually it grew far too big for himself to control. Ludwig roughly slid his chair back and stood up. He needed to get out, get some fresh air.

Who knows, maybe he'd just so happen to see an Italian running into the meeting as late as ever.

He walked out of the room, few eyes trailing him as he did so. When he finally found his way outside he let out a sigh of relief and closed his eyes, just to enjoy the moment of silence that he'd been longing to have. He opened his eyes again and looked at the sky. The leaves were falling from the trees, not long from now winter would come.

He looked at the sky and watched an amber leaf fall off of one of the two trees outside of the meeting building. The building was large and elevated, a basic staircase leading to it's double door entrance. The outside was a beige color while the inside was red. Two giant trees were placed at the sides of the staircase, one to the left and one to the right. They were tended to year round and were now as tall as the building itself, growing bigger and bigger by the year.

Many passersby would often gaze at them as they passed. The trees were nothing more than giant oaks, but people loved to watch them change throughout the seasons, Kiku being one of them. Sometimes after meetings he would sit on the staircase and watch leaves blossom or fall.

Ludwig found himself lost in thought, thinking all about the trees and whatnot. He came back to reality when someone began climbing the stairs. Ecstatic, he looked down as a young fellow neared.

He was disappointed to find that it wasn't Feliciano, but found them to be just about as tall as Alfred. In fact Ludwig couldn't help but compare their appearances in general. They both wore glasses and leather jackets with a number painted on the back. They both had those ahoges on their hairlines too. But everything about this man was dark. Everything from the tip of his hair to the heels of his boots.

He had dark brown hair and what appeared to be a blood stained T-shirt. He also had a suspicious smirk on his face. The man didn't make any eye contact with Ludwig, he simply glanced in his direction then went inside.

_'Must be another micronation.'_ He thought. Every so often a micro nation would show up and try to fit in with the rest of the countries. They often come to one or two meetings before either giving up or being destroyed altogether. Ludwig figured this was bound to happen to this wandering soul. He had never seen this small nation before, but it surprised him to see that this one was so grown up. It takes hundreds of years for countries to grow up, so said micronation had to have been around for quite a bit of time.

No more than a minute later the man walked out. He still had the same devious smile planted on his face. Halfway down the stairs a large folded letter fell out of his back pocket. Ludwig was hesitant at first, but went down and grabbed it.

The man was walking towards the street when Ludwig got to the end of the stairs, he rushed to the crosswalk. Unfortunately, the man was gone. He had disappeared between the rows of cars. Ludwig sighed, now what was he supposed to do? He desperately scanned the streets. But there was no sight of him.

The man, whoever he was, was now long gone.

Ludwig looked down at his hands and scanned the letter. It wasn't sealed at all, and there was nothing that stated who it was from. It simply had a small folded over tab. He grabbed it and unfolded it. Under the the tab was "To Ludwig~"

His heart skipped a beat or two.

"Maybe it's just a misunderstanding..." He said under his breath. This could be a letter to any 'Ludwig' right?

. . .

_Ciao_

_We have someone you know Luddy. _

_If you want to find him again then go to Pysauer placae on Meahsntecr_

_-2p_

_. . ._

Ludwig stood there, frozen in place.

What did this mean?

Who were they talking about?

What was this jumble of letters?

He read the letter once or twice before pulling his arms down to his sides. He turned around and rushed up the stairs. He needed to show this letter to the rest of the countries; maybe they knew what it meant.

As he ran up the stairs, taking them two at a time, he realized that he had missed something. On the step just below the one where he found the letter, was a picture. It was flipped over and the back was facing the sky. He gripped it and picked it up.

The back had a date, time, and place on it. The place was scrambled again, just as above. It stated: "_Pysauer placae_, 11/3, 3:27am."

Ludwig was unsure whether or not he should flip the picture. Maybe it would be best to leave it as is.

Maybe he didn't want to know what was on the other side, and if he saw what it was he'd see something extremely disturbing.

He hesitantly turned the picture over and his eyes widened once more at what he saw.

It was a picture of Feliciano, his hands were restrained behind his back and his feet were chained together. He was on his side, tears flowing down the his cheeks. His face was heavily bruised, a thick bandage was at the rim of his hairline. Despite this a thin line of blood still crept through a small crevice and slowly flowed down his forehead, stopping above his eyebrow. A thin cut on his cheek was also noted, half of it hidden by the shadows of the wall. A figure was just barely visible. It appeared to be someone standing next to the cameraman. Ludwig couldn't determine his height but he figured the person was shorter than he was, but only assuming. The man had a knife that he appeared to be twirling in his hand. He was wearing a hat of some sort, it seeming to be a fez at the least. The last thing he was just faintly able to identify was a curl, similar to Italy's, poking out on the left side of his head.

It was enough, Ludwig rushed back into the meeting room and threw open the doors. Whether or not that was because he was angry or he was nervous didn't matter, but it caught everyone's attention. The conversations and fights stopped altogether as he ran over to the table.

"I have something everyone needs to see!" He yelled as he slammed the letter and picture down on the table. The room fell completely silent, you could only hear the uncomfortable German shift on his heels. He shut his eyes as he tried to pull together the right words. Kiku had slid over towards the end of the table and grabbed the picture. Before anyone had a chance to say a word Kiku put down the picture, image facing down.

"What... is this?" He asked as he looked up at Ludwig. He had placed his hands on his forehead and shielded his eyes from the rest of the room. Anyone could've outright said he was crying, but no one wanted to bring up the thought.

"I..." He said as he looked up at the rest of the room. "don't... know."

He picked up the letter and picture and handed them to Kiku, who started to pass them around. Everyone who saw it seemed to get a worried look on their face. Especially Lovino, who was plain out furious. He started blurting out nonsense and curse words altogether, to no one in particular of course.

The pages were returned to Ludwig and allowed him to fold them back up and put them to the side. Kiku appeared to be deep in thought, and Ludwig couldn't help but wonder what he was thinking. Arthur cleared his throat from across the table, and everyone gazed at him.

"As you can see, we have a situation on our hands." He said as he fixed his tie. "I say we should investigate. This could be a prank, but just to make sure we should find Feliciano." People started murmuring in agreement all around the room. Everyone turned their gaze back to the Brit when he slammed his palm on the table. Silence returned to the room before he spoke.

"Ludwig! Do you know anything that could help us?" He exclaimed across the table. Ludwig sat there in silence, thinking. "Well... he did mention he was at the supermarket over the phone. He also said he saw a man but I didn't manage to get a description before the line went dead." Alfred shot out of his chair, shaking the table and pushing a startled Frenchman to the floor.

"THEN THAT'S WHERE WE'LL START!"

* * *

And thus the search began. The Axis and Allies went off to the supermarket where Feliciano was supposingly at when he was last heard from. The rest of the countries went searching elsewhere, or just didn't care in general and left the meeting without another word.

"Well, I guess we should find the car." Ludwig mumbled as they arrived in the parking lot. It was a lot darker on this side of town. The sky was gray and it was still raining from earlier that day.

"Wow, this is depressing." Alfred blurted out, it seemed as if it was supposed to be more of a joke than a statement.

"Shut up Alfred." Arthur mumbled under his breath.

The drive to the supermarket was long and uncomfortable. They had squeezed into Arthur's Mini Cooper (it was the only car they had since most walked to the world meetings, or took a cab), since the taxi drivers all refused to drive the 40+ miles or so to get there.

So Arthur and Kiku were sitting up front while everyone else was stuffed in the back. Ludwig was crushed against the car door next to Francis. Alfred was in the middle, driving just about everyone crazy. Ivan was to his left, and Yao was half on his lap, half on the door. And to add to that, Francis and Yao didn't have seat belts either.

"Lets hope we don't get pulled over..." Francis had said when they first entered the car. It didn't help that once they actually got to the supermarket, they only had one umbrella. Ivan ended up holding it over himself and everyone walked next to him, trying to stay as far away as they possibly could.

All except for Alfred, who just ran through the rain, flailing his arms and laughing his head off like an eight year old child who was just given thirty dollars at a candy store.

Arthur had mumbled an insult under his breath as they surveyed the area. It took awhile to actually find the car. The parking lot was surprisingly big and packed to the brink with pickups and vans.

"Maybe there's some sort of an event going on in town?" Yao suggested. Along the way they had seen a couple of banners, but the color was being drained out of them by the rainfall. Ivan saw the BMW first, and pointed it out to the others. But it was a couple rows ahead of them and they couldn't see it at all. So then they spent about another ten minutes dashing between cars and apologizing to any passing drivers.

When they finally got there, the first thing they saw was the spilt groceries. One of the three bags was torn open and ransacked through for most of it's items. The other two were untouched, but many of the jars and trinkets inside had fallen out and were scattered around the parking lot.

'_How come no one noticed this?!_' Ludwig thought to himself as he examined the bags. Hadn't anyone walking by saw it and got some help to make sure whoever they belonged to were safe?

Apparently not.

The car door was also opened halfway, but that was the least of their worries. The next thing they saw was the dent in the trunk. The car, though old, had never been in an accident. The dent was recently added to the exterior, and quickly caught the eyes of everyone. It wasn't long after that the bloodstain was discovered.

Arthur questioned how the stain had managed to surpass through the many waves of rain that had fallen that day. The blood was dry now, but had formed a small puddle.

"Someone was laying in it." Ivan told them as he stared down at it. "But not for too long." He added. Alfred knelt over and saw the oil trailing out from under the car.

"Someone sabotaged the oil- Hey... what's this?" He reached under the car and grabbed at something. Suddenly he pulled out a white cloth. A normal old white cloth. At least that's what it appeared to be... at first glance. It took them all a moment to realize what it really was.

A white flag.

"I-Italy?"


	3. Chapter 3: Lucky Fellow

**This chapter takes place at the same time of the world meeting, just before the picture and letter are 'delivered'. **

**It's also in Italy's POV. **

* * *

**CHAPTER THREE**

**Lucky Fellow**

Feliciano slowly started regaining his consciousness. His head throbbed with pain as he attempted to sit up. How long had he been out? Last he remembered, he was talking to Ludwig.

But nothing else.

He looked around, trying to figure out where he was. It sure looked like a prison. And whatever where he was, it was pretty cold.

The walls were painted gray but the coat was old and covered in cracks; either from the paint not being able to sustain in such low temperatures or from receiving some form of impact.

The floor was rough and jagged, seemingly a wave of concrete that had been badly set and now had plenty of potholes. And the door was pure steel, reinforced with a small window near the top.

It was also pretty dark, he could only see with what light came through the window.

He felt around his forehead, and his fingertips rubbed against a thick cloth. He figured it was a bandage covering some sort of wound that was inflicted on him. When he put pressure against it, pain surged through his nerves and he quickly removed his hand. Feliciano closed his eyes as he waited for the feeling to go away.

He was so lost in thoughts and misery, he didn't even hear the door opening or the footsteps on the cold floor.

He didn't realize that someone was watching him, until his train of thought was derailed and he was brought back to reality. Someone shouted in his ear, "Ciao!" and Feliciano let out a panicked 'squeak'. He opened his eyes, only to bring them to a pair of red ones. The man he was now facing had a big smile on his face, and waved a hand at Feliciano. Hesitantly, he waved back and forced a smile of his own.

"Scusa if I frightened you. I thought you saw me." He chuckled. He stepped back and allowed Feli to see his full appearance. He wore a white jacket with a black shirt underneath it. Added to that was a light pink scarf that was similar to those worn by actors on Broadway. He also had blonde hair, with a curl similar to his own sticking out of the side, and a pair of lightly tinted sunglasses.

He opened his mouth as if he wished to speak, when suddenly the door in the hallway was thrown open and slammed against the wall. A series of boots stomped against the floor as a group of people walked towards the cell. Feliciano couldn't see past the man in front of him, and he didn't dare move from his spot.

It took him a moment to realize his hands were trembling, that he was so frightened. The man stepped out of the room and closed the door behind him. Seconds later a series of yells started erupted just outside. Feliciano clumsily scooted himself into the corner of the room, tears forming at the rim of his eyes.

All of this confused him, and he just wanted to go home and be as far away from this madhouse as possible.

The shouts grew loud as someone came to the door. Someone banged against the door, causing Feliciano to flinch. The steel barricade slowly opened, creaking as the yelling seized. Feli could hear footsteps heading in the opposite direction, which relaxed him a bit. The door continued to slide open as Feliciano wiped away tears.

He couldn't see who was trying to enter, or if anyone was for that matter. He turned his head to the side, and peered through the slowly growing entrance. The sound of steel cutting through air was heard, as a knife was flung through the door and landed next to Felciaino, just missing his head.

Feli fell to the side as the rest of his body started to tremble in fear, much worse than he had before. He shut his eyes and started shouting. "

"P-Please don't hurt me! I'll tell you anything you want and I won't fight! Promise!" As he continued to cry out, the knife was roughly removed from inside the wall and twirled in the air.

"Shut up idiota!" The man yelled. Feli shrunk down into the wall. He didn't want to open his eyes, he didn't want to see what monstrosity might he face if he were to do so. But he had to. Reluctantly, he opened his eyes. He didn't see a demon or some single eyed beast, but what he did see scared him even more than he would have otherwise.

The man that stood before him was nearly identical to himself. He was the same height, had the same accent, he even had the same curl. But when Feliciano saw his eyes, he was struck with pure fear.

Out of all the things, they scared him the most by far. It was the same man. The very same man that he had seen at the supermarket. The very same man that had been watching him the period of time that he was there.

And now he was here.

Trapped in the room with the knife wielding maniac. The man had violet colored eyes and a fez on his head, the same as before. He wore a uniform similar to his fratello, except the shade of tan was darker, almost a light brown. His hair, though the same style, was a darker shade.

Feli managed to cough up "Who-... who are you?" through his trembling lips. The tears had returned and were just barely hanging onto the rim of his eyelids. A grin appeared on the man's face. He walked to Italy and kneeled down in front of him, the knife being held between his index finger and his thumb. He motioned between the two, using the blade as a pointer of some sort. He pointed at himself, then at Feliciano.

"I'm you." He said in a devious, twisted tone. Feliciano pushed back with his leg, trying to get away from this lunatic.

"Well, I'm you. With a bit of a twist." He said as he twisted his wrist to add effect.

Standing up and walking towards the retreating other, a chuckle escaping his throat as he stood up, satisfied with the fear showing on Feliciano's face. He turned on his heel and took a few steps in the other direction.

"Call me Luciano, and nothing else." He suddenly jolted around and swung the knife. He stopped just at Feliciano's throat.

"Unless you want to die." He raised the knife and swiftly cut a thin line across Feli's cheek. He let out a small cry and fell onto his back. The tears were let free and slid down the sides of his face. Luciano smiled at the weeping man.

"Tsk, how weak." He stated as he walked towards the door. He quickly signaled to someone out in the hallway.

"It's time to have some fun." He mumbled as a man, taller than himself stepped inside. Feliciano couldn't get a good look at him, his vision was heavily blurred. But he could at the least tell that he had long blonde hair, that was probably cut above his shoulders, and then pulled back into a ponytail. He wore the full royal Canadian mounted police uniform, and heavily tinted glasses. He could also see a curl similar to that of Matthew's. The man held a hockey stick in his hands, a grin on his face.

Feliciano knew what was about to happen would likely be one of the most painful events in his life. He could tell by the glimmer in their eyes. They wanted to see him hurt, to see him cry.

They wanted to see him suffer.

But he didn't understand why. Why did they want him to go through all of this? Was it just for their own personal entertainment? Their own enjoyment? Or maybe there was some logical reason behind it. Feliciano didn't remember if he really ever hurt anyone. Not that he could either way.

His thoughts were disturbed when he was suddenly struck in the chest. He let out a gasp as all of the air in his lungs ended up sucked out of him. He fell back onto the ground hard, but had little time to recover from the attack. Suddenly a fist connected with his forehead, hitting the bandage and pushing him into the wall. He cried out as he fell onto his side.

"P-Please..." He whispered before a hockey stick struck him in the back.

He yelled as more tears streamed down his cheeks, the pain intensifying. He couldn't move, all of it was just too much for him. He just wanted to crawl away to safety and go to sleep. Escape to his dreamworld where he would never have to worry about this.

His beating continued on afterwards, it seemed like it lasted for hours. Eventually his body went numb and he stopped feeling the pain. Everything seemed to freeze around him as the blood flowed from his now re-opened wound and down his forehead. He stared at the roof, once again lost in thought.

Luciano, as he wished to be called, had left the room to grab something. Most of their conversation was muffled to the Italian. When he came back he had chains and a couple of locks in his hands. They restrained Feliciano as well as they could, before walking back in with a camera. He whimpered at the sudden flash that blinded him.

Feli tried to say something, but he was too hurt to move.

His upper body was completely sore, random strikes of pain appearing and then disappearing every which where He didn't want to move, he couldn't. He didn't realize that he was drifting off to sleep. That he was losing consciousness. Maybe he had a concussion. Maybe he would be able to escape this hellhole of a world, escape all the pain that he was being forced to endure.

As he watched the two leave the room, Luciano looked back at him and smiled.

"Dormire bene."

. . .

Hours later, Feliciano finally woke up. He had been out for 9, maybe 10 hours. All the pain that had previously vanished, quickly returned to his body.

His legs were numb, but his chest and back were aching. His muscles were tight and his bones felt broken which, more or less, they were. The chains had been removed, leaving behind red marks on his wrist. The pain in his head had subsided, but his neck was sore from laying on such an uncomfortable surface for so long.

When Feliciano sat up it was as if every bone in his body popped back into place. The sound of them all cracking echoed against the walls. He let out a sigh of relief as a fraction of the pain disappeared. He stretched out his neck, twisting and turning in an attempt to loosen the muscles. He also shook his legs repetitively, as he tried to get blood flowing through them again.

There was a stench of death lingering in the air, seeping through the crack under the door and filling the room. Italy covered his nose at the sudden unpleasant smell. He started trembling again.

W_hat were those psychopaths doing out there? Did they kill someone else?_

He could hear murmuring from somewhere nearby. Murmuring followed by a psychopathic laugh. It was so loud, Feliciano could of sworn whoever was laughing was right next to him. The laugh was then followed by a loud cracking sound and someone yelling out in pain.

A shiver flowed down his spine as he suddenly tumbled over in fear. He let out a shriek but quickly covered his mouth, not wanting anyone to hear him.

When the laughs and murmurs stopped altogether, Feliciano knew they had a hint of an idea.

He couldn't hear any footsteps, so with whatever energy he had regained over the period of time he had been unconscious, he stood up and tumbled towards the door. His arms launched out and his hands latched onto the window frame carved into the iron door. He peered through it, and wasn't able to see anything moving. The hallway was dark and damp, water appeared to be dripping from the roof and dim lit lights trailed along the walls.

The door at the other end was open, but no one was there.

Someone just seemed to of left it open without a care in the world. Suddenly another scream erupted and Feliciano fell into the door. He reestablished his footing and stood back up. He started shaking again, and his hands were in tight balls, his knuckles slowly turning white.

He was able to hear the sound of a blade cutting through something, most likely flesh. Feliciano started praying that all they were doing is butchering an animal of some sort, and not a person. The screams had died out and now small conversations seemed to be popping up in the other room. Feli tried to listen to in on one of them. Though he wasn't fond of eavesdropping, he was hoping that someone would say something that could help him get out.

The most obvious 'conversation' was of two thick italian accents slowly raising their voices into a loud argument. He couldn't exactly make out what they were saying, the words were barely audible, but he did manage to make out

"Avrebbe potuto sfuggito idiota!" Followed by a much quieter voice saying

"Ma lui sembrava così paura." Feliciano could tell it must of been the first man he met, since he was the only one hadn't tried to kill him. Yet. Feliciano heard a grunt and then the rest of the conversation was mumbled.

Feli spun around and let himself slowly slide down the door. These people were bound to kill him, he was sure of this. If he didn't get out sooner or later, they'd end him. It was the only explanation. What else were they planning to do with him? To them he was just another victim. Another toy in their entertainment. While lost in thought he felt the door being pushed against him. Startled, he dove out into the darkness and hid there as someone else entered the room. He shut his eyes as tight as he could, hoping that it was just a false alarm and that no one was there. Unfortunately, he was wrong.

"Ello, champ! M' name's Oliver!" Feliciano jumped up and opened his eyes to see a quite... cheery man. He had strawberry blonde hair and bushy eyebrows to match. His eyes were a sky blue, and he wore a pink vest with a blue bow tie to pull everything together.

"Could I interest you in a cupcake?" The man smiled widely as he pulled a tray of cupcakes out from behind his back. There were six, each decorated in a different way. All of them colorful, unlike this dreadful place. Feliciano was wary of what he could do, for all he knew they could be poisoned. But he couldn't remember the last time he had eaten. His stomach had growled at least twice since he had woke up and the cupcakes sure looked delicious.

Hesitantly, Feliciano reached out and grabbed a random one. He examined it; covered in blue frosting with pink swirls, a small edible flower on the top, and finished off with a series of randomly colored sprinkles. Without thinking, Feli quickly took a bite out of the sweet and started to chew, hoping he hadn't made a bad decision. Oliver smiled at him, looking at the tray of cupcakes then back to Feliciano.

"Well, aren't you a lucky fellow."

* * *

Scusa = Sorry (Italian)

Idiota = Idiot (Italian)

Ciao = Hello (Italian)

Fratello = Brother (Italian)

Dormire bene = Sleep well (Italian)

Avrebbe potuto sfuggito idiota = He could have escaped idiot (Italian)

Ma lui sembrava così paura = But he seemed so afraid (Italian)

**A/N: It really didn't seem like this chapter was completed right after Italy was knocked out, so I decided to add. I really enjoyed writing this chapter, and I plan to make this story a bit more dark in the future. I hope you guys enjoyed, I'll start on the next chapter ASAP!**


	4. Chapter 4: A New Discovery

**A/N: I was just being lazy on this chapter, nothing really big behind it. And I'm sorry about it being real short, I just wanted to get this done. Ugh I really hated this chapter, I didn't even want to read it over. As of a matter of fact, I didn't. =.=**

* * *

**CHAPTER FOUR**

**A New Discovery**

After discovering Feliciano's white flag drenched in oil under his car, Ludwig had rushed back to meet with the others that were supposed to be at the world meeting.

But it was very late by then, and most of the countries had gone home.

All that stayed behind were Kiku, Yao, Ivan, Antonio, and Lovino who, by the way, was only there because Antonio was his ride home. And since Antionio wasn't leaving, neither was he.

When Ludwig and the others got settled in, he showed them all the evidence they had come across, and then everyone started adding to it. It was obvious this was a kidnapping, and the man that delivered the letter and picture had something to do with it.

Yao and Ivan were stuck researching on the computer, trying to find any information on the red-headed freak that they could come up with.

Really anything from a simple picture to a police report would help. They were basing everything they searched off of the concept sketch Kiku had drawn. Once Ludwig settled down after the shock, Kiku had drawn a quick sketch of the culprit. It wasn't extremely detailed, but it worked as far as they cared.

Kiku was also trying to decrypt the letter, the letters made no sense and it was fairly obvious that they were meant to be unscrambled. So far, he knew that the second word had to be 'Palace" since the letters didn't appear to create any other combination that could be plausible in this situation. But that wasn't a lot to work off of, since there were lots of places that had "Palace" in the name and they couldn't exactly go to each and every one of them and break down the doors, screaming for Feliciano and beating up anyone that got in their way.

Things just don't work like that, and if they ended up getting caught then that would put their investigation to a huge stand-still.

Antonio was analyzing the letter and picture, trying to find anything that may be hidden inside of it. As for Lovino, well he was just 'relaxing'. It's not that he didn't _want _to find his brother, it's just that all of the roles seemed to have been taken up.

Ludwig sighed as Yao and Ivan murmured to each other over at the computer, and Kiku quietly sat next to him, writing something down and trying to solve the confusing puzzle.

He could feel Lovino's eyes burning holes into the back of his head. Ludwig didn't understand why the Italian hated him so much. He hadn't done anything to him as far as he could tell, aside from befriend his brother. They were barely introduced to each other before the he had lashed out at him. It wasn't as insulting as it was embarrassing, but he mentioned none of it to the younger Italian.

Suddenly the room became quiet, sending a chill down Ludwig's spine. The silence quickly became awkward, Yao and Ivan were reading an article, Antonio was scanning the picture of any notes in the background, Lovino had his head in his hands, and Kiku had stopped tapping his pencil against the table.

Ludwig wasn't sure whether or not he should say anything, maybe everyone was deep in thought and if he were to disturb them they would get mad? With all the pressure everyone was under, the last thing he wanted to do was upset them. But he didn't need to make a decision, since a certain someone broke the silence for him.

"Aiyah! We found something!" Yao yelled from across the room. Just about everybody jumped from their chairs. Ludwig slid his back roughly and walked over to their seats. He peaked over Ivan's shoulder and looked down at the screen.

What he saw couldn't of made him happier.

On the screen was a fairly clear picture of a man that perfectly resembled the Alfred look-alike. It almost seemed like a mugshot.

"Great! This is perfect!" Ludwig happily exclaimed, almost out of character. Everyone huddled up behind him to see whatever he was excited about. There was a picture just above a small group of paragraphs. No one had read it yet, but that's what they were planning to do. But what confused Ludwig, what confused everyone was that this man, whomever he was, looked exactly like Alfred.

Just as Ludwig had described, he had the same appearance, aside from his drastic color change. His skin was tan, his hair was a dark brown, eyes red, and a pair of dark shades. Of course those were just the basic details, there was much more that was different about this man but Ludwig didn't want to waste any time describing the obvious to himself.

Antonio clapped his hands, drawing everyone's attention.

"Buen trabajo, Ludwig call Arthur. I'm sure he has something to do with this. And while you're at it, get Alfred too. Who knows, he might know a thing or two as well. Yao and Ivan, keep doing what you're doing. Find anything else you can on this guy. Kiku, do whatever you were doing beforehand. Lovi, you're with me!"

Everyone departed to do whatever they were told. The Spaniard smiled at his Italian friend who had a pissed off expression on his face, as if that was new. Lovino waltzed over to Antonio and his hands turned to fists.

"I told you not to call me that Tomato-Bastard!" Antonio just laughed and patted his friend on the back, then lead him over to their original seats to continue working.

Ludwig pulled out his makeshift cell phone and looked through his contacts in an attempt to find their numbers. It took him a couple of minutes before he realized that he didn't know the Brit's and he had deleted the American's a long while back. He didn't really know who to ask, since he didn't know if anyone was actually friends with the two, at least out of the people in the room. Then he remembered that Kiku was there, and that him and America had been friends for a good bit of time and he remembered that Arthur had visited him before.

Swallowing his pride, Ludwig went over and asked for the two phone numbers.

"...Of course Ludwig-san. Let me just find them." He pulled out his phone and brought up the two contact numbers. Thanking him, Ludwig quickly dialed the first number, ignoring the fact it was two in the morning.

_One ring... _

_Two rings... _

_Thre-_

The line picked up and he heard a tired voice on the other end. "Uhm... hello?" A thick british accent was heard on the other side.

"Guten Morgen Arthur." Ludwig scratched the back of his head, unsure of how to continue. "Um, sorry to bother you and all but we found something important and really need you to come down and take a look."

"You do realize what time it is?"

"Yes... but we believe you might know something about all of this." A sigh was heard.

"Of course you do... Anyway, if you insist I'll will be there soon." Ludwig quickly thanked him before hanging up and then dialing the next number. He figured it wouldn't be too hard to convince the American to show up. He was always rambling about being a hero and all anyway.

The phone picked up halfway through the first ring and an energetic voice was heard on the other end of the line.

"Hey! What's going on? Did you guys find anything? Did you figure something out? Do you know what that letter is supposed to say?" Ludwig had to wait a moment before the questions stopped flowing and he was finally able to talk.

"Yes we found something, and it's fairly... interesting. We need you to come and help us out. Do you mind-"

"Of course not! I'm the hero!" Ludwig sighed, of course he would say that.

"Well please arrive soon, it's urgent."

"Got it!"

* * *

Buen trabajo = Good Work (Spanish)

Guten Morgen = Good Morning (German)


	5. Chapter 5: Two-P Theory

**CHAPTER FIVE**

**Two-P Theory**

Ludwig silently sat in the room, waiting for Alfred and Arthur to show up. He found himself tapping his foot on the ground, trying to entertain himself in anyway he could. He had been sitting there for what, ten minutes now? And he was slowly growing impatient. He didn't like waiting, especially under these circumstances. He wanted to find Feliciano as soon as he could. That was his goal, his mind set. And these two taking their sweet time was getting in the way of it.

Suddenly the sound of men shouting was heard in the hallway. He sighed, looks like they finally arrived.

The two doors opened up in sync, revealing Arthur and Alfred who were in a heated argument about god knows what. Everyone looked in their direction, hoping that they would notice and stop yelling.

But they didn't, and the bickering seized only when they stood in front of Ludwig. He sighed and stood up, motioning the two towards Yao and Ivan, who had just finished reading the small but presumably confusing article. They both read over it, Arthur's face seemed to change with every word.

He stood up straight and rubbed his eyes, sighing. Everyone gave him questioning looks and Arthur shook his head.

"Give me a moment, I have something you all need to see." He walked out from the room and everyone sat there, waiting. Alfred seemed to read the file over and over again, then looking at the picture and picking every small detail out of. Just like the rest of them, he didn't understand.

Arthur walked back in, pulling a shoulder book bag at his side. He pulled it up and placed it on the table before opening the flap and pulling out a thick book. It was titled "Research Journal" and had a bookmark sticking out from the top. He opened the book up where the bookmark lay and it revealed many pictures with captions every here and there on both pages. He placed the book flat on the desk and everyone surrounded him.

The pictures resembled detailed portraits of the sun and it's whereabouts. It still didn't explain why he wanted to show it, and by the confused looks he was getting, he could tell. Arthur cleared his throat and everyone returned their gazes to him.

"Let me explain." He shuffled past everyone and sat down in his chair, the book in his lap. Everyone took their seats near him, listening to his story.

"A while ago I had an idea to create an artificial sun. With all of the mentions of Global Warming and Pollution, I figured we would need an alternative power source. I decided a smaller and safer version of the sun would be best. If we could create a smaller sun that was closer to Earth but almost as powerful as the original, then we could increase solar power by... a lot. Then if most if not all things were solar powered then we wouldn't need to use as much coal and oil." Everyone nodded, thinking that the idea was something worth trying.

"Of course I didn't have all the kinks worked out but I wanted to test the idea. So, using a few spells and whatnot, I tried to... create one. But, as it may seem, it didn't work. Instead I found myself messing with the laws of space and time. As a result, I managed to... _cut_ into another universe. Specifically a _two-P_ universe." Confused looks sprawled on everyone's faces again. They'd never heard of a two-P before, and Arthur wasn't surprised.

"Let me continue...

"As I said, I managed to break into another universe. I wasn't able to enter it, I didn't want to. Far too dangerous to chance it. But I could see into it at the least. I'm not sure if they could see me, either they could or they already knew about us. But anyway... back to the story. So two-Ps, as I've decided to call them, are... well, _us_. They are our opposites. Our second player. As I've come to know them, they look similar to us, but are very much different. Personality and attitude wise. But they are part of us." Once again confused looks appeared, and honestly, Arthur was growing tired of it. But he raised an eyebrow when Kiku and Yao seemed a bit nervous at the topic.

He shrugged it off, figuring it that the idea in general was just... scaring them. Ludwig spoke up.

"So you mean, the man I saw... was Alfred's two-P?" Arthur nodded.

"It seems that somehow they were able to get into _our_ world. I don't know how yet, that'll be something I'll look into. But for now we need to focus on Feliciano."

"Arthur-san... do you think that Feliciano-kun's two-P will... kill him?" Japan was holding his hand, most likely to stop it from uncontrollably shaking as he spoke.

"No I don't. I managed to come up with a conclusion that I think will explain everything to you."

Arthur opened up his journal and flipped through the many pages. Finally coming to the correct one after a couple of moments, he cleared his throat and with his best 'reading voice' he read it out loud.

"_If a one-P and their two-P are to cross paths, they are more than welcome to duel. If the one-P is defeated by the two-P, they will be removed from that realm and placed in another. If a two-P is defeated by the one-P, they will return to their home dimension. No one-P nor two-P can kill the other. Only countries can kill countries, fact. A one-P and a two-P are different faces for the same body. If either are killed, they will both die._"

He closed the book up again as if he had just finished reading a child a bedtime story and looked to see the others reactions. A couple of sighs of relief escaped, knowing that at least one person wouldn't be able to put their paws on Feliciano. But that didn't stop the fact that a ton of others would be able to.

"So... in order to get rid of them, we have to fight them aru?" Yao asked, nervousness faintly noted in his tone. He wasn't worried about his well being, specifically his brother's. He couldn't fight Kuro without risking a chance of killing Kiku. Kiku would _have to_ win. This is something he wasn't sure if he was capable of. Yes, before when he was much younger and a samurai he would of been able to easily match Kuro's strength. But now he was much older, and wasn't necessarily focused on combat as he once was. Unlike Kuro, who had sought revenge ever since their last fight. Arthur shook his head.

"I'm not sure yet. Obviously this is just what I've managed to come up with. It's a theory and I haven't really been able to prove it yet." Yao and Kiku both knew it was true, but they didn't speak up. They didn't want to mention anything to their friends, even in this situation.

"But I think we might be able to get rid of them another way. It's just an idea... but It might just work. You see, I think that if we can find this force that managed to take them from their universe to ours, it just might be able to send them right back where they came from. The only problem is, I don't know who or what brought them here."

Everyone nodded, liking this idea a bit more than the first. The picture of two-P Alfred showed that whoever he was, he was mean and fierce. Probably ready to rip anyone's head off too. And he was just one example of what the two-Ps were capable of.

Everyone divided once again back to their workstations, this time with a bit of help from Arthur and Alfred. Arthur and Kiku went over possible ways to track down and conceal the force that brought their two-Ps to their world. Alfred started searching the internet for any more information they could find. Not knowing any names was a bit of a problem for all of them.

Loudly, stomachs rumbled around the room, causing everyone to shift their gaze towards the single clock hanging above the wall. It was six. Somehow, between the time that they were waiting from the two to show up and now, they had lost complete track of time. They even failed to notice the sun peaking it's way through the windows just barely. Ludwig couldn't remember the last time he had eaten.

Ever since this whole case started he'd been too busy worrying about Feliciano than his own well being. Alfred stood from his chair and caught everyone's attention.

"Whatta you say we go and catch something to eat? Come on!" He ran out the door before anyone could reply, and Arthur started mumbling about how he butchered the Queen's English. Everyone started leaving, all except for Kiku. When questioned he simply declined.

"No thank you, I think it's better that I stay behind and work a bit more. I'll eat later, don't worry about me." Yao sighed, patting his brother on the back before following the others out.

He looked over his shoulder before leaving. His gaze met his brothers and they both knew what was coming. Unlike the others, they had already known about the two-P universe. They had learned lots of it from Kuro, who was once in an unbalanced friendship with Kiku. Yao never liked him, who could blame him? Kuro was nothing but trouble. He always wanted to go to war and whatnot. When he wasn't able to, he started committing violent acts. Acts that tore the short-lived friendship between them apart. Acts that forced the two great nations to take drastic measures in order to keep everyone safe. Acts that caused tensions between their people. Acts that almost took their lives.


	6. Chapter 6: My Dark Side

**CHAPTER SIX**

**My Dark Side**

Not long after Feliciano had taken the first bite out of the cupcake, he had slipped into unconsciousness... again. Oliver laughed as he fell onto his side, fast asleep.

It was true, he was _lucky_.

He had managed to pick out of the six, the only non-poisonous one. It had, of course, a bit of sleeping powder inside of it, but no rat poison or anything similar to that. He stood up and left the room without looking back. He would tell the others later of his doings, unless they were to figure out on their own.

Oliver skipped into their "meeting room" where most were sitting around a table.

Axis on one side, Allies on the other just like always. The table was extremely long, long enough so that the two groups couldn't reach each other without a couple of good strides. It was the only way they could keep them apart so they wouldn't try to kill each other.

Oliver slipped into the seat next to his American 'friend' and waited patiently for their meeting to start. The day's topic was simple, "How can we keep running our counterparts in circles?" They wanted to play this game for as long as they could, since they were unsure of how long they would manage to stay in this dimension. Some weird mystical binding crap had brought them there in the first place, and they were sure it could bring them back just the same.

And if not then they would have plenty of people to torment, a side from each other.

Silence filled the air as the two teams stared each other down.

The axis leader, Luciano, was leaning back in his chair, feet on the table. He wasn't very interested in the meeting, not like he ever was. He would much rather be elsewhere than discussing a topic he considered unimportant.

Next to him was Kaspar, who sat high in his chairs, back straight and arms crossed with his eyes looking straight ahead, poking out from under the shadow of his hat.

Kuro was motionless, his left hand resting motionless on the handle of his katana. He was eying his brother whom was sitting across from the table, doing the same.

Lanzo slouched in his seat, refusing to make eye contact with anyone and taking interest in the cut up section of the table. His metal fingers traced the rim, going over every jagged cut and scrape.

Leonardo sat with his chin in his hands, staring boredly at the rooftop without a care in the world.

Sebastian appeared to be doing just the same, not wanting to getting into another stare down with the opposing countries. It wouldn't end well.

On the other half of the table sat an overly excited Englishman who was jittering around in his chair.

Allan sat with a smug look on his face, trying to intimidate the others as best he could. He wasn't planning to leave this meeting without getting into a fight.

Next to him sat his brother, Andrew, who was annoyed with the fact that he had came to yet another meeting. Usually nothing got done at these, and in the end someone would almost always get hurt, generally stabbed, no matter the circumstances.

To his right was Jian, and of course, he was staring down his brother from across the table, sibling rivalry.

At the other end of the seats, Viktor was located. The same tired expression was plastered on his face. Once again he had neglected getting a decent amount of sleep and was just as exhausted as always.

And lastly was Jean, who was smoking his cigar as usual and had an immense poker face.

The silence was broken when Luciano cleared his throat and sat up, placing all four legs of the chair back on the concrete with a _thud_. He looked across the table at Allan and then started to speak.

"As we all know, our counterparts are looking for their stupid, little sad excuse for a country. With the clues we left them they are bound to figure something out. We need to make sure they don't by any means necessary. Even if it means hurting a couple of them nel processo." A couple of countries in the crowd started smiling, specifically those that hold some sort of a grudge against their opposites. He stood up from his seat before continuing.

"So, that means we need to make sure whatever they know we destroy. Anything they've written down about us, bruciamo. Any computers they have with information about us on, distruggere. Anything about us we have to get rid of a soon as possible. Capito_?" _Everyone nodded in agreement and Luciano motioned for his companions to get out of their seats, which they all did in sync. He started walking in the other direction when he stopped and turned around.

"Also, if anyone sees you... far loro del male." He smiled and then left, the others following close behind. Jian sighed and stood up from his seat.

"Time to get to work." He mumbled before leaving the room, Viktor following him out. Oliver was humming happily to himself, which irritated Allan even more than before.

"Will you shut up already! How am I supposed to think with you being all annoying?!" Andrew scooted his chair back and stood up.

"It's pretty obvious you don't know _how _to think." He left the room, eventually Jean did as well since he didn't want to have to listen to Allan have another temper tantrum. That left the two in the same room, arguing a bit too loud for enjoyment. The others had already gone outside to meet for a separate meeting. Having decided that Allan, Oliver and Kaspar would stay behind to watch the prisoner, while the rest would head out to do as they had been instructed.

Teams had been assigned by Lanzo since he seemed to be the only one that didn't care who was with who. There were three teams of three. The first one consisted of Andrew, Kuro, and Luciano. The next one had Leonardo, Sebastian, and Jean. The last one ended up as Lanzo, Jian, and Viktor. Each team was designated a specific area of town. The first team received the World Meeting building as well as the surrounding area, the next was given half of the homes where the countries supposedly lived (But most likely wouldn't be) and the final group got the last bit of homes.

Last minute thoughts were shared before the groups departed.

* * *

Andrew's group arrived quickly after to their destination. They sat in the bushes, complete silence sweeping over them. No one was sure if there was anyone actually in the building. There had been the previous day, according to Allan at the least, so they had to be careful. It was around lunch time and Andrew had a hunch that if anyone was inside, they'd be leaving sooner or later.

They sat there for an extra ten minutes before deciding enough was enough.

They stepped out of the bushes and began heading down the hill they had been located on. Unexpectedly, the double doors to the building flew open and people start piling out. Panicked, the three jumped behind any object they could find.

Yes, maybe they wouldn't recognize Andrew right off the bat, but Kuro was nearly a dead give away. They had to be as careful as possible. Luciano silently counted the people leaving the building. Once the opposites were out of sight the team regrouped.

"I counted seven leaving." He noted, not wasting anytime. Kuro nodded.

"They'll likely return soon though." He added "To get back to their 'investigation'. We must hurry."

The others agreed and they rushed across the street, nearly getting hit by an ice cream truck along the way. When they finally reached the staircase they were careful to make sure no one was coming out of the building or towards it before entering. The hallways were silent but brightly lit.

It disgusted Luciano in a way.

They peeked their heads inside of rooms to see if it was anything important. Most were just empty offices or rooms in general. A couple were bathrooms. When they finally got to a room that was bigger than all the rest Luciano peeked inside. He quickly slide his head back out and stumbled a bit.

He took a good five steps back before signaling for the other's to come closer.

"There's someone in there. He's pretty ugly, so I'm sure it's Kuro's onie." He smirked at his own remark, which only made Kuro twitch. If he were to outburst it would surely blow their cover. Calming down, Kuro spoke up.

"Let me take care of him. He definitely won't be much of a problem. When the fight starts, ransack the place." They both nodded and smirked. It was about time they saw a fight between two countries, and it was literally Kuro versus himself. It was bound to be entertaining.

Kuro stepped in front of the group and lead them over to the door. He took a deep breath before throwing them open. The doors bashed against the walls, startling Kiku and making him fall from his seat. When he stood up, expecting to see the others returning, his face nearly turned white at the sight.

"So... You've returned." He mumbled. Kuro slowly nodded, the others a bit confused.

"I told you I would." Kuro smiled as he stepped forward, letting the rest get inside.

"I was expecting you." Kiku added as he closed his eyes and placed his hand on the handle of his katana. He was nervous, you just couldn't tell. The last time he had fought himself he had lost, in a way. Yes, Kuro was banished elsewhere. But he had the scars to remember him of the day that he was scared would come again.

And unfortunately, it did.

Kuro motioned with his head to the right, Luciano and Andrew following his lead. They moved their way over to a stack of papers. With the limited amount of time they had, they didn't care whatever was written on them. They just had to be destroyed.

Kuro's hand found the handle of his blade and rested there. The two waited for one to make a move. Kiku had pushed the blade out of the sheathe ever so slightly so he would be able to quickly react if Kuro decided to be unfair which, knowing him, he would be. The only thing that could be heard was the tearing of paper and someone trying to turn on a lighter in the background.

Sighing, Kiku decided if he wasn't going to stop them now then they would destroy almost everything they worked for. He had to prevent them from continuing, even if it meant he would be hurt in the process.

Dashing forward from his spot, he released the blade from it's cover and raised it over his head. Almost as if he was expecting it ahead of time, Kuro slipped his katana out of his sheath as well and slashed across horizontally. He blocked the attack rather efficiently, as well as attacking at the same moment in an attempt to disarm early on. Kiku jumped back, landing gracefully on his feet before getting into a defensive stance. Kuro loosened up his wrist as he swung his sword low to the ground, slowly but surely coming closer and closer with each step he took.

A thin line of sweat dropped from the rim of Kiku's hairline and down the side of his face. He was in no condition to fight, at least at the moment. He hadn't eaten since the night before, and he had decided to not join the others for lunch. Right now his worst enemy tied between his stomach and his two-P.

Kuro didn't waste much time walking towards his _victim_. He wanted to get rid of him as soon as possible. Unlike most of the others, he had come to this dimension more than once. He remembered back in the dark days, him and Kiku would fight often. Eventually it got to the point where one day he would be in control, and the next the tables would turn. Whenever he was in charge he would do as much damage as possible. This could be anything from committing a crime, hurting a relative, all the way to blood and murder.

But it wasn't that he truly hated Kiku, he still cared and wanted to make sure the other was safe from general threats made by other countries. It was simply that he was engulfed with rage when his _friend_ betrayed him over small little ideals that they had not yet met at that time, which resulted in the bloody battles that were layed out on the field.

The only one that had actually known the truth behind the random bi-polar events was Kiku's brother, Yao. In fact Kuro had been the one to betray Yao in the first place. He was the one that laced the scar across his back. After Kiku won the power struggle and Kuro was banished, the brothers refused to talk about the topic to anybody. Especially their friends.

Kuro, on the other hand, was disappointed in himself heavily and intended to get his revenge, one way or another.

. . .

As Luciano and Andrew burned the remaining papers and scattered the ashes on the floor, they listened to the rapid clashing of steel in the background. It drew a smile to Luciano's face, knowing that for once Kuro was actually taking charge of the situation. But it still made him very curious after listening to the two's share of words earlier.

What had he meant by '_You've returned_?_'_ The question kept buzzing through his head. He obviously couldn't say the same for the Canadian to his left. He had a plain out poker face and wasn't showing much emotion towards the whole fight. Andrew dug through the many cabinets and drawers that were mostly empty. Any paper he found he handed to Luciano to get rid off. Eventually, after looking for a good bit he found a laptop, hidden in the back behind a couple of barren boxes. He pulled it out and waved it around with one hand.

"Look what I found." He smiled and Luciano nodded, already knowing his intentions. Andrew placed the laptop at his feet and then took a few steps back. Then he took his hockey stick, which he had been carrying most of the way there, and raised it behind his head.

Acting as if the laptop was a puck of some sort, he swung down and the stick connected with the side of the computer.

It made a loud cracking sound as bits and pieces fell off of the side and the screen cracked. He continued to beat the laptop until he was sure that it wouldn't work, even if they tried. Just to make sure, he removed the hard drive and smashed that separately. When it was just chunks of wasted electronics he shuffled it under the cabinet with the side of his boot. Then he took the laptop it's self and chucked it at the window with all his might.

It flew right through the glass and hit something outside. Most likely the tree that everyone loved so much.

. . .

Meanwhile, Kuro and Kiku were in a heated battle.

Neither of them had struck an actual hit, but it was obvious Kiku was becoming tired. He seemed to shuffle rather than walk across the ground every so often, which Kuro took note of. It had been so long since they actually dueled and he wanted to make sure he won this time. The last time he had lost he was extremely frustrated with himself and, as a result, refused to talk to the others for a long time.

But now was his chance to fully redeem himself. To be able to put this _fool_ into his rightful place. He longed for such a chance, and now he was finally given it.

Kuro continued on his violent assault, forcing Kiku to the defensive. Whenever he tried to strike, Kuro would evade and fight back. If Kiku tried to attack full on, he would risk getting hit himself. He had to wait for the right moment, one when Kuro isn't paying as much attention.

And, if anything, he had to stall this fight until the others returned.

Suddenly Kiku saw an opening. Kuro had swung diagonally downwards to his left, leaving the entire right side of his body open for a split second. Taking the risk altogether, he stabbed out at him. Time seemed to slow down as his blade contacted with his arm, and Kuro jumped back. A thin cut formed a few inches above his elbow, tearing the cloth as the blade passed through.

Kuro hissed in pain and stepped back, holding his wound. Precious fluids seeped out, spreading apart and causing thin lines to flow down his arm and onto his hand. The red liquid covered his palm as he removed it to inspect his wound.

_It's now or never_ he thought _If I don't finish this now I won't have enough time to do it later!_

He gripped his katana firmly, trying his best to ignore the growing pain in his arm. Kiku stood back, taking the time he was given to catch his breath. Kuro took this to his advantage. Launching forward and catching Kiku off guard, he slashed downwards. As a result, Kiku jumped back again, as he had done previously, to dodge. But unlike before, his energy was now depleting. _He was weak._

Before he had landed just fine, but this time he returned to the ground less than gracefully and lost his footing. He fell onto his back with a loud thud.

"I'm getting too old for this." He mumbled before rolling to the side to avoid a clear shot for the head. He stumbled to his feet but found himself letting his guard down. The hilt of his enemy's weapon crushed into the side of his cheek.

His grip on the katana loosened and fell to the ground. Kuro didn't give him any time to recover, instead he landed a sidekick square in Kiku's stomach. The Japanese man fell back once more, landing on the cold floor with little to none will to fight left inside of him.

He turned his head to the right and reached for his katana, laying a couple feet away. Kuro kicked it out of his reach before stepping on his hand. Kiku winced in pain, trying to move his hand out from under the shoe.

Kuro couldn't help but smile. It pleased him to see someone like Kiku fighting so desperately for their life, but the hope inside of them slowly fading away. He reached out and grabbed his collar, lifting him onto his feet and raising him to his face. He pushed him against the wall; hard, his head banging against the wood.

_Damn it, I lost again_ Kiku thought to himself. The katana was then raised up to his neck. Kuro pulled it back, preparing to jab it deep inside the flesh, when suddenly;

The door flew open.

The group from before walked into the room, a look of deep confusion on their face. When the Brit happened to look in his direction, his eyes went wide. Andrew and Luciano, after completely decking the place, had been watching from the sidelines of a table. He also didn't find it very nice that Kiku was about to be slayed by what looked to be _himself_. Arthur pointed in their general direction.

"Get them! They're two-Ps!" He yelled. The others, who were either too shocked at the mess or too lost, hadn't spotted them yet. When they did they started running over to them.

Kuro grinded his teeth and looked over at Kiku.

"You got lucky this time Orokana rōjin!" He threw Kiku onto his knees and then slapped him with his free hand. Kiku let out a small whimper and watched at the trio jumped out of the nearby window that had been earlier smashed thanks to someone not exactly liking a certain laptop.

* * *

Nel processo = In the Process (Italian)

Bruciamo = Burn (Italian)

Distruggere = Smash (Italian)

Capito = Understand (Italian)

Far loro del male = Hurt Them (Italian)

Orokana rōjin = Stupid Old Man (Japanese)

**A/N: I ****REALLY**** loved writing this chapter, and in my opinion, it really recovered from the previous one. I wanted to mainly make this chapter about Andrew, but in the end I wanted a fight scene between Japan and Kuro too. So I chose the fight scene, which I also enjoyed writing. First fight scene I've actually done as a matter of fact. Writing wise at least. I hope you guys like it!**


	7. Chapter 7: Iron Cross

**CHAPTER SEVEN**

**Iron Cross**

Team two, also known as the Spaniard, the annoying Italian, and that French guy, were heading down the street to their destination. They weren't visiting all of the houses, it seemed as if most were home so early in the day, and they could only got to a couple. And by this they meant they could only go to their one-P's more no less.

A lot of people thought that was a stupid idea but they wouldn't question it.

They didn't want to get into another fight. Obviously this meant that a large majority of the houses wouldn't even be touched. This also bothered a couple of people, but even fewer than the first.

Sebastian lead the group down the sidewalk. He was taking directions from Leonardo, a decision he slightly regretted. Not wanting to read the map and look around repeatedly to find the streets they had to go to in order to find their way around, he handed the responsibility of directions to his _friend_.

And all it really ended up doing was giving him a reason to speak to Sebastian.

Jean was following further behind, smoking as usual and looking around without a single fuck to give. A couple of parents gave him dirty looks, considering that he wasn't exactly 'well groomed'. He ignored them, he was used to it anyway. The two in front of him weren't getting much done either. Bickering like always.

Leonardo would tease him, Sebastian would insult him, Leonardo would laugh, Sebastian would curse.

So on and so forth. It was just as productive as every world meeting he'd ever gone to.

And now, here he was. Being lead by these two buffoons. They were Axis, he was an Ally. Putting the two together was never a good idea. The only reason they hadn't tried to cut each other's throats out was probably because of the mission they had ahead of them. If they weren't to accomplish it, then they would be unable to continue with their game.

He had to admit, it was fairly enjoyable. Tormenting people was his specialty. He loved doing it, but his near expressionless face didn't really hint to it.

Finally they managed to arrive at the first house in one piece. All of the houses happened to be conveniently placed on a single block. He wouldn't be surprised if they ran into the other group, since the Albino's place was on this lane too.

First was the Italian's. After beating Feliciano senseless they checked his pockets and whatnot for anything that they hadn't found in the car. The only thing they got was his house keys and some coins. Even though they would much prefer to break the door down, the keys would be less suspicious. Leonardo who, for some dumb reason, was left in charge of keeping the keys fumbled to open the door. Once inside they started destroying the place.

Thankfully the brother of their victim wasn't home, so they didn't have much to worry about. If anything a couple of neighbors would hear them but nothing too dangerous.

And even if they came a bit too close then they wouldn't live to see the light of day again.

They didn't find much in the house, not a big surprise to Jean. He can't say the same for his companions though. They seemed a bit... too shocked. In fact they actually ransacked the house a second time. Tables that were already flipped over were smashed, bookshelves were thrown over, books were burned. The place was totaled, just as they had planned. They even broke a couple of faucets... just for good measures.

The next two houses were just the same. No big surprise, just a huge ass mess. I guess you could say they were leaving a bit of a present for their one-Ps. Sebastian sighed, obviously annoyed.

"That was a waste of time." He rubbed his head and walked out the door. The other two followed behind him, also annoyed.

"We could of been back at the base tormenting little Feliciano." Leonardo said with a smile. Jean nodded and they kept walking, bored as ever. But they didn't get far before seeing a couple of familiar faces.

"Hm? Is that Luciano?" Sebastian asked, pointing out into the distance. The three looked off at the horizon. It was still early and cold, the sun rising slowly.

The trio who had fled the fight scene were now running blindly ahead. They had been followed by a couple of one-Ps. Normally they would of turned around and fought but if others decided to join they were bound to be out numbered.

And to add to that, Kuro was slightly wounded. Not to mention the fact that when they jumped out the window they landed in glass shards.

A couple managed to launch themselves into Kuro's feet, having the thinnest shoes out of the three. The others either avoided the shards completely or had nearly impenetrable boots. Kuro was basically running on his toes, just trying to avoid hurting himself anymore than he needed to. Not that he cared much, he actually enjoyed inflicting pain on himself in general. It made him feel stronger and like he could endure going through immense amounts of torment without being phased.

But being stabbed in the foot by tens of hundreds of shards of glass while you're trying to run away from your enemies isn't the best idea.

Leonardo started waving his arms around like the lunatic he was, drawing the other's attention as well as a few unwanted stares from strangers. Luciano facepalmed at his brother's stupidity. Despite this his brother continued to flail his arms and yell "Fratello, fratello!" over and over again. When they were close enough Luciano finally snapped at him.

"Shut up idiota, I'm standing right here!" He yelled at his brother who only smiled and hugged him. Kuro sat down and started picking glass out of his feet. Jean walked over to Andrew and threw his cigarette to the side.

"Did you guys have any luck?" He asked. Andrew smiled.

"Definitely. We wrecked the place. Anything that they had in there is long gone. I even smashed their laptop personally. Kuro got to fight his 'old man' too." Jean smiled. Fights between a one-P and a two-P always sounded interesting. He never got to see one though, this was the first time they'd be in this dimension anyway.

"How 'bout you guys?" Jean shook his head.

"C'était une perte de temps." He spat. Andrew nodded and looked back over to see if Kuro was handling himself well. He managed to pull the shards out and ripped the ends of his cape to wrap his feet.

"Jigoku o kuso..." he mumbled before replacing his shoes and walking back over to the group. Luciano finished yelling at his brother and walked back over to the others, Leonardo following close behind. Sebastian sighed.

"So, what now? Do we just return to base and pretend like nothing happened?" The others shrugged. No one really cared what they did next, no one knew what the plan was. So Luciano jumped in to 'save the day'.

"Let's go an look for the other group. If we can join up with them and get a report on how things are going, we can head back to our casa sicura_."_

* * *

Not too far down the block, Lanzo was wandering about. Having grown tired of hearing both Jian and Viktor rant about a certain Japanese man, he silently said a quick goodbye then rushed off towards another direction.

He didn't like being out in public. It gave everyone a chance to see the scars that ran across his face.

Oh how he hated having to look into a broken mirror every morning and see the four cuts that brought back dreadful memories; each one resembling something of minor importance to others, but lots of importance to himself. All of them had their own story.

To hide the shame and suffering from the outside world, he found himself hiding within his bedroom in the safety of the shadows. Otherwise he would wear a hood of some sort to cover his face. Hide his face in the shadows that no one could peer through no matter how much they tried.

This was just one of those times. But it being so early in the morning, he doubted anyone would really notice.

So he walked down the sidewalk, a few people passing him by but having no interest in him. He was somewhat thankful for it, being nervous enough as is with this whole plan anyway. He just hoped and prayed he wouldn't run into himself. Then he would have to explain just about everything.

He wasn't sure what to expect from his counterpart. How he'd look or act. He hadn't even seen Feliciano before, so he didn't really grasp the whole concept of one-P and two-P. Of course he had heard the occasional stories that were shared amongst the Axis whenever they had nothing better to do.

Really they were just myths if anything, tall tales, trying to figure out what their counterparts would be like.

This of course was when they first entered their dimension, and Kuro said he spotted someone that looked familiar to himself. Luciano was almost immediately interested and, as a result, he went hunting for this person. Instead he ended up finding his one-P and, as a result, decided to hatch a plan on the spot to capture this person.

Which ended up creating this whole mess.

And was also the reason why he was walking to the German's house to find anything that could be of use.

Which would likely end in disaster, as always.

Lanzo sighed. He was rambling to himself again, even if it was only in his head. Nonetheless he had no time to, as he was now two houses down from his destination. He slowed his pace as he grew closer and closer. He gulped when he went up the two steps placed before the doorway. He was tempted to knock, just for the heck of it of course. But instead he grabbed the doorknob and turned it. He raised a question when it actually turned and the door slowly slide open.

The inside was quiet as far as he could tell. He crept inside at a snail's pace, slowly and silently closing the door behind him without making a single peep.

He tiptoed further into the house, finding himself in the kitchen.

The light above the stove was on, but it was fairly dim and only allowed him to see better. Still moving, he could hear something going on in the other room; sounded like a TV. Looking through the small window that divided the kitchen itself from the breakfast bar, Lanzo was able to just barely see the screen of the television that had been left on; Soccer.

The announcers were speaking in loud, booming voices and people were cheering, just as energetic about the game as the players appeared to be.

He began to lean forward, trying to peer farther into the room to see if anyone was home. But that room was darker than the kitchen, so it was nearly impossible. Not thinking things through and leaning ahead even more, his elbow knocked into a salt shaker which fell onto it's side with a loud thunk against the granite counter top. He jumped back and hit his head on a cabinet as well. Biting his tongue to stop a scream was escaping, he gripped the back of his head and leaned against the counter.

"Eh? West, you back already?" Lanzo's eyes widened and he started to panic. Forgetting to be stealthy and whatnot, he rushed over towards the door. Just before he managed to get there, the kitchen light flicked on and nearly blinded him.

It was probably the brightest light he'd ever seen.

Stunned for a moment, Gilbert saw the shadowy figure and immediately saw him as a threat.

"Huh? Ein Räuber!" He blurted out, ignoring the fact that he had almost immediately switched from English to German. Springing to attack, Gilbert grabbed him by the collar and lifted him up, throwing him back into the hard fridge that was mainly used for the storage of alcoholic beverages and wurst. Lanzo was shaking from nervousness. He hadn't fought anyone since his dissolution, which was a very long time ago.

"Who are you?!" His voice was obviously full of anger. Lanzo wasn't sure what to say. Tell the truth or come up with some lie, it seemed that either way he was screwed.

With one hand around his neck and another placed on the granite counter top, Gilbert pulled Lanzo around so his back was against the breakfast bar. Leaning back farther and farther, if he were to keep this act up the other would surely fall unconscious.

The hood that Lanzo had entrusted to prevent his identity from being known fell back and revealed his face.

Gilbert raised an eyebrow and loosened his surprisingly tight grip. Being_ The Awesome Prussia_ he sure as hell knew how he looked. And this guy really looked like him.

Lanzo fell to the ground at Gilbert's feet, gasping for air and trying to retain his composure.

"I'll ask it again," Gilbert continued, causing Lanzo to look up the Albino once again, but then looked away. "Who are you?" There was a moment of pause between the two. Lanzo had obviously lost this war, and needed to spill his guts or else his counterpart was bound to.

"L-Lanzo." He locked eyes with Gilbert. "Lanzo Beilschmidt."

Another awkward pause noted as the two stared each other down. Gilbert finally let out a sigh and stepped back to allow his counterpart the much needed room to stand up. Lanzo obliged hesitantly, rising to his feet slowly and regaining his balance at the same rate. Gilbert motioned for the other to follow him into the dining room. Lanzo followed, looking over his shoulder at the door before continuing.

Once he got there, Gilbert spun around a chair and sat down in it, the part of which he was supposed to use to support his back was now being used to rest his chin. Lanzo sat just across from him in a similar looking chair. Once again the two locked eyes, but for not as long since Lanzo found himself looking at the floor. Gilbert decided to break the silence.

"So, does this mean you're my two-P?" Lanzo looked up, a bit shocked at the straight-to-the-point kind of question.

"I-I guess." He stuttered over words. Gilbert smiled.

"West sent me a text." He said, waving his phone around that had miraculously found itself in his hand. "Something about our 'opposites'. I don't listen much during world meetings anymore. I'm not a country anyway, I only go there because I don't have much left to do with my life."

Lanzo nodded, somewhat understanding his decision but not fully. He slumped down in his chair, as he would do in just about every world meeting he had gone to, and diverted his gaze elsewhere. Gilbert couldn't help but notice the Teutonic Knight emblem on the side of his jacket's sleeve. It made him smile, remembering the old days when he roamed around as a country.

"So, you seem to be a fan huh?" Lanzo looked up and then followed his eyes to the symbol on his arm.

"Yeah... I miss the old days." He moved his arm into the light for a better view. "It was much better back than." He said with a sigh.

"Back then I had _power_, I had _control_. When people saw me they would run away in fear for their lives. When I fought people I could learn their techniques and skills. Their movements and abilities. Then use it against them until I managed to make the final blow. Those days were the best. But now..." He looked down again, all the pride that had sparked in his eyes seconds beforehand disappeared. His frown returning.

"Now I'm a _nobody_. A _loser_. I'm _not awesome_. I'm _not brave_. Heck, I'm _not even a country_ anymore!" He seemed as if he would cry. Gilbert started to laugh. Lanzo looked up, confused and angry. _Why was he laughing? _Gilbert stood up, throwing his chair to the side.

"What are you talking about? Yeah, maybe _we're_ not a country anymore. But that doesn't change the facts. _We are Prussian!_ Brave men that sailed the seas and fought off unwanted 'guests'. Yeah, maybe we got our asses handed to us in the War of Austrian Succession by that jerk Hungary, and maybe we got murdered in World War II and had to sleep under Russia's rooftops for a crap ton of time. But still, we were A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!" He made sure to emphasize on the entire word to get his point across.

"C'mon! Show your Preußen pride!" Gilbert laughed his signature laugh and stood tall and proud.

As much as Lanzo would've loved to stand up as well and laugh like he used to, he found it awkward that a moment ago he had been trying to break into his counterpart's house, and now they were in a somewhat friendly conversation. While Gilbert bathed in his previous glory, Lanzo took a chance to fully examine his appearance.

It was fairly obvious that he hadn't been planning for any visitors, he was wearing a black shirt with blue shorts and a pair of white socks. Just like himself, he had white hair and red eyes, minus the four scars. Then his eyes caught a gleaming piece of jewelry that he was fairly curious about.

"You still... wear yours?" He asked. Gilbert stopped laughing and gave him a confused look. Lanzo tapped his chest and Gilbert looked downwards. His eyes caught his iron cross and he smiled again.

"This old thing? Course I do! I've had this since... forever maybe!" He laughed again. Lanzo was starting to like this guy.

"Uhm, don't you wear yours?" Gilbert asked, a curious look formed on his face. Lanzo shook his head sadly.

"No, not since the dissolution. Mine seemed to have... broken after I dissolved." Gilbert raised an eyebrow.

"Strange. Mine was perfectly fine afterwards." He played with the cross in his fingers.

"I still carry mine about though." He reached into his pant's pocket and rummaged through them before yanking his hand out and placing it down on the table. His fist opened up and two objects clanked against the top. He moved his hand away and the remains of his cross were revealed. Half of it were apart from it, jagged bits and piece along the edge, showing that it had been broken with a large amount of physical power.

Gilbert scooped the two pieces up and looked at them. His finger traced one of the two broken halves and ran them over the many shards.

Suddenly the clock rang, signaling that an hour had passed. Lanzo jumped up.

_I need to go, or the others will surely grow suspicious of me._

"I'm sorry Gilbert but I must leave. I hope to see you again in the future. Lebewohl." He waved before running out of the house, forgetting his Iron Cross that was still placed in a certain pair of hands.

* * *

C'était une perte de temps = It was a waste of time (French)

Jigoku o kuso = Fucking hell (Japanese)

Casa sicura = Safe house (Italian)

Ein Räuber = A Robber (German)

Preußen = Prussia/Prussian (German)

Lebewohl = Goodbye (German)

**A/N: Woot! Had more fun writing this chapter. I really wanted to get some more attention put on Lanzo, since he doesn't seem to be that much of a popular 2p! Character as others. I had some problems settling on his appearance and personality though, so I just took tidbits of headcannons I heard and came up with, and put them into this guy. Hope it was at the least acceptable. Also, I really wanted to upload this on Valentine's day. Looks like I met that schedule for once.  
**


	8. Chapter 8: Spill My Guts

**CHAPTER EIGHT**

**Spill My Guts**

Alfred and Ludwig had both bolted out the back door to follow the culprits, ending up hot on their trail for a good ten minutes before losing sight of them completely.

"Verdammt!" Ludwig spat, slowly his pace and catching his breath. Neither of them could see any sign of their targets. Even the convenient blood trail they had been following now seemed to have disappeared.

"Looks like we lost them." Alfred mumbled, turning around to head back.

"You're just going to give up?" Ludwig asked between gasps for air. Alfred nodded.

"We can't do much chasing shadows. It's best we go back and help the others." Sighing in defeat, Ludwig lead the way back to the world building.

* * *

Meanwhile, Kiku was trying to persuade the others that he was perfectly fine.

But it was quite obvious that he wasn't.

One side of his face had a large, disturbing bruise that was changing colors rapidly. Along with that was a thin cut. It seems as if the impact was so strong that the skin broke and created a long slash. On the other side of his face was a large, red hand print that stung to touch, as well as a couple of red fingers from being crushed.

"I'm fine..." he murmured as his brother grabbed him by the arm and lifted him to his feet.

"No you aren't aru! Your wounds need to be tended to." He started to drag his brother along, Arthur following close behind as the others began to clean up the mess. Alfred and Ludwig returned just in time to see Kiku reluctantly scooting his feet across the ground in order to keep up with Yao, who was almost running down the hall.

Halfway to their infirmary, Kiku fell unconscious on his brother's arm. Thinking of the worst, he began to panic and shake his younger sibling furiously. Arthur struggled to keep Yao under control.

"Settle down! You might just make it worse! He's probably just sleep deprived. He hasn't slept for nearly two days now, he's bound to be tired..." A couple minutes later, after struggling to carry the surprisingly heavy body of Kiku down the rest of the hallway, they finally managed to make it to their makeshift infirmary. It was just a hospital bed with a cabinet full of medications and a bag full of supplies. It was usually used for minor wounds whenever fights were to break out. It wasn't often, but whenever it occurred they were always prepared.

The two lifted Kiku onto the bed and Yao pulled up a chair next to him. Meanwhile, Arthur was digging through the medical bag to find some band-aids. He managed to find a really big one and began to peel off the backs of it. He placed it over the wound and made sure it won't come up when applying the ice pack.

Being countries, their wounds heal much quicker than those of a human. But they still hurt just as much. He places the ice-pack gently on his cheek and positions Kiku's head to the side, compressing the pack between the mattress and his cheek.

Standing up, he notices the white knuckle grip Yao has on his brother's hand. Arthur pats him on the back and motions him to follow.

"We should let him rest. He very well deserves it." Nodding slowly, Yao hesitantly let go of the cold hand and followed Arthur. They headed back to the now destroyed meeting room, no communication whatsoever to each other. Once they arrived after the short walk, they find everyone cleaning up the mess. Ludwig, Ivan, and Alfred were tipping tables and chairs upright while Antonio and Lovino were sweeping up the ashes and trying to find anything that they could reuse.

Yao, being the oldest and, according to a certain Russian, most fragile, was left to the side to watch everyone work as quickly as they could. It made him feel left out and useless, to a certain extent of course. So he was forced to sit against the wall and watch everyone do whatever they had to do. He eventually grew bored, but the feeling in his stomach kept him from moving. He definitely wasn't hungry, he had just come back from a meal with the others anyway.

What he was feeling was in the bowels of his stomach was nothing more than good ol' fashion fear. Fear for himself, his brother, the others, and Feliciano.

Especially Feliciano.

He couldn't bare to imagine the pain and suffering he was bound to be going through at that moment. It made his stomach churn at the thought. If the others were as bad as Kuro...

Finally he stood straight and walked over towards the door to leave the room.

"I need some fresh air aru..." He mumbled to no one in particular. The room was, after all, lingering of the smell of smoke. The ashes had, for the most part, been disposed of but their scent still remained. The windows were left open, but it didn't help too much. Arthur noticed Yao's fleeing back and stood up.

He quickly told the others he would be back momentarily and then rushed out the door, following the Chinese man. By the time he was in the hallway, he was just able to see Yao walk out the front doors.

Walking quickly, as to not draw any attention to himself by passerby, he opened the double doors. The sun was high and bright by now, a small breeze helping to cool those who were exposed to it's hot rays. The perfect combination of hot and cold made it an enjoyable experience. Few clouds scattered the sky, bringing small bits of shade every now and then.

The street was now bustling, not as much as it had been previously but enough to prove that most of the town was awake. Yao was sitting on the very last step of the staircase, his back slouched as his elbows rested on his knees.

He took in deep breaths of the fresh air and sighed happily. Arthur walked down the staircase as quietly as possible, trying not to disturb Yao. He seemed to be watching the leaves fall from the trees. Though he wasn't as into it as his brother was, it gave him something to gaze at while he tried to clear his lungs of smoke. Arthur sat down next to Yao and followed his eyes up to the top of the trees.

"Pretty nice huh?" Yao nodded, ignoring the fact that, out of all the people, Arthur had decided to sit next to him. He sighed.

"What you want Opium?" He asked rather harshly. Arthur slightly flinched at the tone, but retained his composure quickly.

"Something is troubling you Yao. Ever since I mentioned the two-ps you and Kiku have both been on edge. More than the rest of us at least. What's on your mind?" Yao took in a sharp breath, before releasing it slowly and lowering his shoulders. He was tense, really tense. And the burden of keeping secrets compiled inside of him hurt his old heart. Defeated, he sat up straight again and looked into Arthur's eyes.

"You have to promise me you won't tell a soul aru." Arthur placed his right hand over his heart and raised the other.

"I swear on my life and all those whom depend on it, that I won't speak a word of the secret that brings such a heavy burden upon you and your people." Convinced, Yao began.

"A very long time ago, maybe even before the _Great British Empire,_ there were once_... _two Japans_. _Two personifications of my dìdì, but each with their own roles.

"The original, Kiku, was in charge of Economics and most Diplomatic situations aru. Whereas his duplicate or _Kuro _was in charge of Military power. Every once in awhile he'd butt in on Diplomatic affairs but all in all he knew his place.

"Kuro saw himself as a bǎohù zhuāngzhìa, a guardian aru. The one that was in charge of keeping Kiku safe, along with everyone else that he was put in charge of. That's when things started to get out of hand...

"Kuro wanted more power, more control over everything. He got more say in Diplomatic issues and started suggesting to declare war on a lot of people. But Kiku, being the peaceful man he is, didn't see much reason in doing such a thing and even less of a gain in the end aru. So they avoided war as often as they could. For the most part, their army was used to fend off invaders.

"But then Kuro got hào diàn.

"He wanted to have more than just Japan aru. He wanted other countries as well. At that time, Korea was a primary target for both of our countries I ruled over it, but Kiku was interested... Kiku and I had actually been debating possible compromises, but Kuro just _had _to butt in aru.

"He wanted to own Korea, even if it meant taking it by force. So that's what he did aru. Less than three days later, the _War of Jiawu _or, as you Westerns seem to call it, the First Sino-Japanese war began. It was a terrible time for my country specifically. Though it only lasted a year, many of my men died trying to defeat Kuro. We wanted to modernize our military aru... but it didn't seem to work.

"We surrendered and lost Korea that day, it was terrible. It sparked revolutions and whatnot within China, and it caused harm to everyone. Kuro was happy overall, but tensions between our countries grew furiously.

"After that, I rarely spoke to my brother aru. He attempted many times but I refused. It wasn't his fault altogether, he had no control over Kuro himself. But he could've at least tried harder to stop him.

"It might not of worked, but it would have at least told me that he still cared aru!" He stopped talking for a moment to catch his breath, before continuing. Arthur was extremely curious. He had heard of the war, but he didn't know much of the history behind it. He was just never interested enough.

"Anyway, about forty-two or so years later, I finally decided to visit him aru. A surprise visit if anything, but I needed to see him again. I was starting to forget how he looked. So, I travel out to Japan and go to his house. I knocked on the door and waited patiently aru. It eventually opened, and I expected to see calm brown eyes staring at me. Instead I found a pair of blood red ones complete with a dark smile."

"Kuro."

"Shì.

"So right off the bat I asked him what he was doing there. He calmly replied that he lived there and then invited me in for tea. I asked him where Kiku was and he just said that he was sleeping aru. Now, I had just traveled all the way from China to Japan so I wasn't about to turn around and head all the way back just because of him.

'But I was still cautious, obviously our past isn't the best so I had good reason to be aru. So I go in after being invited, take off my shoes and then sit down. Sure enough, Kiku is in the other room sleeping silently and peacefully aru.

"Kuro snaps at me not to bother him and then prepares us tea. Not trusting anything that this man were to provide for me, I ignored the green tea he had placed in front of me and we sat there silently. I wasn't trusting this guy for one bit though aru.

"I mean, he hadn't taken that smile off of his face since I arrived! It was suspicious!

"But I wasn't about to show that I was scared of him. Stand my ground right aru? I needed to prove to him that I wasn't going to shrimp down and give him the upper hand. I sat tall and proud and ignored any looks he sent my way. I was calm and composed until he spoke to me. The words he said..." Yao shutters for effect.

"They were evil, cruel. I hated them. Though they seemed so nice, they were quite the opposite." He paused for a moment, as if debating on whether or not to continue. Or just to recall what he was going to say. Arthur raised an eyebrow.

"What did he say?" Yao sighed.

"He said, 'Yao, I'm going to say this only once so listen and listen good. I don't _care _about you whatsoever, but I care about Kiku. I want what's best for him. Your country has the things _we _need. Raw materials, food, labor, and much, much more. Nihon doesn't have all of that, or at least as much. So we need _your_ country.'

"If it were from anyone else, I would've thought that they were simply asking for support of some sort. But this was Kuro. It was the exact opposite aru.

"His words were laced with venom, everyone letter was slithered into a phrase and then spat out at me.

"He wasn't even threatening me. He was _promising _me aru. It was a warning that a war was coming. He wanted to dominate my country and take everything I had worked hard to create. I couldn't allow that Opium, I just couldn't.

"So I was forced into a war aru. The second Sino-Japanese war. On July 7th of 1937, it became official.

"After he said that, I got up to leave. I needed to leave that place, no matter how much I wanted to see Rìběn. But he wasn't going to just let me walk away. No, he wanted to make an example of me aru. So when I was hallway to the door he took out his katana and he..." Yao gulped and looked down at the floor, for once breaking away from Arthur's eyes to look elsewhere.

"Maybe..." He stopped again. "Maybe it's best that I just show you." Without another word he stood up and started walking up the stairs, mumbling

"Follow me Opium." and then continuing. Arthur followed close behind and found himself in the Men's restroom. Feeling awkward, he sat there and waited as Yao looked at himself in the mirror.

"Give me a moment aru." He murmured before he started to remove his uniform jacket.

"What the bloody hell?!" Arthur exclaimed, surprised and confused.

"Oh shut up Opium, I just need you to see something aru." First came his jacket and then his shirt and then he was half naked in front of Arthur, who could feel his cheeks growing hot and he turned away to avoid embarrassment.

"Can't you show me whatever it is with your shirt on?" He earned an irritated sigh after that remark.

"No, now will you just look so I can get this over with? I don't like it anymore than you aru!" Reluctantly, Arthur turned around. Yao had his back to him, arms crossed and feet about shoulder width apart. Arthur was confused at what he was supposed to be looking at, until his eyes focused a bit more and he saw it.

Starting at the tip of his shoulder blade and trailing down, across his spine, and then stopping above his hip was a scar. A long, deep scar. It sent shivers down his spine, just thinking of what had gone down that night. Stepping forward for closer examination, Arthur nearly reached out to trail his fingers across it. But he knew that if he were to, he'd surely received a slap.

"I don't really know what happened after he sliced me down the back. I yelled, Kiku came out, said something in Japanese then I passed out. Woke up in a hospital a week later. Apparently something happened to my spine. He cut a bit too deep and a bit too hard aru. Screwed up something important. It wasn't anything bad, at least considering the fact that I'm a country aru. But the doctors were freaking out. They wouldn't let me leave even after I told them I was fine aru.

"...I was back in Shanghai just in time to sign the declaration of war aru." The was a moment of silence before Yao turned around and started to put back on the other half of his uniform.

"Any questions?"

"Yes, quite a few actually." He let Yao put back on his shirt before he started to ask questions.

"If I can recall correctly, the second Sino-Japanese war started two years before World War II did, and ended on the same day since Japan surrendered. But... does that mean Kuro was always there?" Yao nodded.

"Yes, he was always there. In the shadows aru. Kiku and Kuro were never on the same battlefield at the same time. The only way I could tell which one was, was by their uniforms. Kuro preferred the black naval uniform whereas Kiku liked the white. It was an easy giveaway to anyone who understood it aru." Arthur nodded, understanding it a bit more.

"So... Kuro fought in the second World War as well?" Yao thought about it for a moment before nodding.

"Not as much though. That was Kiku's role. He was just focused on getting rid of me aru. But thankfully, Éguó, Měiguó, and even Déguó helped me beat him." Yao finished putting on his jacket and was now facing Arthur.

"So... if my theory about Two-Ps is true then... does that mean Kuro and Kiku fought?"

"Of course it does aru! How else did you expect things to work out? Kuro was getting out of hand, Kiku and I both knew it. He was starting to do things on his own, and that was causing trouble for everybody, even the person that he swore to protect.

"The second Sino-Japanese war was just setting the barriers for it all aru. After that ended and the two fully healed after the two wars they had fought through, Kiku finally decided enough was enough.

"His people were suffering because of a foolish move Kuro decided to make, and more were bound to come if something wasn't done about it!

"...So they fought.

"I wasn't there, I wish I had been. I could've helped him so much more.

"He lost the first fight. And the next. And the next. They never got close enough to kill each other aru. Just forced the other into submission. Kiku started working harder though. Kuro knew what he was planning to do, and he couldn't allow such a thing to happen.

"Kiku was no match for Kuro in any way, shape, or form. He was the economy. Kuro was the military. Big difference in power aru. So Kiku worked harder and harder and harder until they were equally matched. Then they fought, over and over again. It got to the point where I couldn't tell who I was talking to anymore. Kiku or Kuro? I didn't know. Kiku acts so much like _him_ when he's angry. It's kind of scary aru.

"It took so long before one of them was finally the victor. I don't know much of the details. I didn't even know about the fights going on until it was near over aru. Kiku didn't say a word to me. You would have to ask Kiku about what happened that night, but I don't recommend it.

"Not yet at least. It's hard for me to even say things like this to you Opium, but I need to tell someone. I won't dare speak of it with Kiku aru. I can't imagine what It would be like for him.

"So please Opium, do me a favor.

"Please _don't _mention this conversation to Kiku. If you decide to ask him about it I don't care aru. But I had promised him I wouldn't speak of his past, and I broke that promise the second I decided to spill my guts to you aru." Arthur nodded, understanding how much that promise must of meant.

"I will continue with my previous claim. I won't tell _a soul_ about this conversation. No matter what." Yao sighed with relief, then looked over at him.

"Thank you Arthur." Yao walked past him and left. Arthur was surprised by the use of his _human name_ but didn't ponder on it for long. This recently gained information would help him greatly.

* * *

Verdammt = Damn (German)

Dìdì = Younger Brother (Chinese)

Zhuāngzhìa = Guardian (Chinese)

Hào Diàn = Power Hungry (Chinese)

Shì = Yes (Chinese)

Nihon = Japan (Japanese)

Rìběn = Japan (Chinese)

Éguó = Russia (Chinese)

Měiguó = America (Chinese)

Déguó = Germany (Chinese)

**A/N: Ciao~ I hope I didn't use _aru _a lot less than I should have. I was trying to use it in the explanation without overusing it. That just annoys me you know ._.' But now I'm wondering if it's not used enough. Oh well, it's there now. Anyway, I couldn't wait to get into the history of Koru. Whenever I thought of Koru I thought of Japan's betrayal and the Sino-Japanese wars. They always interested me and I found it great how the second one sort of morphed into WWII. It would appear that I didn't mention the bombing of Pearl Harbor anywhere ^.^' but oh well, maybe later on. Also, for all of you who don't know China tends to refer to England as "Opium" after the Opium Wars, or Anglo-China wars. I hope that was enough of a history lesson to help you figure out why China and Japan have been so freaked out. Can't wait to start the next chapter, i have an interesting idea in story. Ciao~**


	9. Chapter 9: Dining with the Devils

**CHAPTER NINE**

**Dining With the Devils**

After the groups had departed the three remaining nations took turns going back and forth to check on their guest, whom had been unconscious ever since the cupcake incident.

"Man, how many of those things did ya' force feed him Oliver?" The Englishman pouted and crossed his arms.

"I'll have you know that he ate that cupcake on his own free will. And it was barely a morsel that he devoured before he collapsed." The sentence ended with a jolly smile. Kasper gave him a questioning glare.

"How much did you put in there if it meant that he passed out within seconds of taking the first bite?" Oliver shrugged.

"A couple spoonfuls perhaps."

Kasper sighed. At this rate, the poor fellow might not wake up at all. They'll just have to wait and see.

* * *

A good couple of hours later, the others returned.

"Have a fun trip? You've been gone all morning." The others scoffed, Luciano stepped forward to clarify.

"Only some of us had success. My group had some fun. You three missed it, Kuro got into a fight with his "one-P". Kiku is it? I got to know him a lot better during the walk home." Luciano smiled and Kuro rolled his eyes.

"Whatever." He murmured before walking off.

Their headquarters was decent sized. It was, after all, once a butcher shop. There was the front where everyone ordered their meats and whatnot. Then once you went into the back there was a big open area that, for the most part, was used as a storage unit. That's where their living and dining area was placed. Then there was the section where the animals were butchered. Obviously, an unchanged and more personal torture chamber. A fairly large office that was used to cook meals. Not the best place to do such a thing, but not one argued. There was also a basement which had mattress and sheets scattered about. For the most part, that's where they slept. And lastly, the freezer, where their captive was being held. The temperatures had been brought up to prevent him from freezing to death, but not too hot that it would be unbearable.

Kuro wandered over to the dining table and sat down, both annoyed and bored out of his mind. He shouldn't be sitting around and waiting for something to happen. He should be out there, taking action.

But Luciano wouldn't allow it.

So he didn't try. The others would likely stop him, and he wasn't in the mood to have a face full of pavement, or worse. So he tapped his fingers against the tabletop and waited for something interesting to occur. Which was bound to happen within mere moments.

Leonardo wandered off to prepare lunch, as no one had eaten whatsoever. He was a fairly excellent chef but, just like his brother, he decided to add a bit of a metallic flavorings to his sauces. He hummed happily to himself as he started to create his relatively popular pasta dish. Back in the living room, Luciano began to question the others.

"Is Feliciano up yet?" Kasper shook his head.

"Hasn't gotten up, barely moved a muscle. He's breathing, at the least." Luciano sighed.

"Shame. I was hoping he'd be up by now. Oh well, I guess we'll just have to wait for lunch." He smiled deviously before walking away, a slight skip in his strides. He went out the front door and disappeared before anyone could question him.

Sebastian sighed and went off to the kitchen. On numerous accounts his companion had nearly killed them in fires, and he had to make sure that wouldn't happen again. The last thing they needed at this point was for firefighters to show up and put out the fire and find out that they had a hostage situation on their hands.

Lanzo scooted his way down the steps and to the basement so he could sleep. He would probably be forced to get up again for their next meal, so he might as well rest while he could.

Oliver started to follow Allan around, asking him questions of all types for no real reason. Allan was obviously annoyed as a result and continuously insulted him in an attempt for the Englishman to leave him alone.

Andrew and Jean had a small conversation with each other, just trying to communicate in any way they could. It was mainly in French but they switched back and forth every so often, just to confuse anyone eavesdropping and enjoy it while doing so.

Kasper began to flip through the television channels, trying to find an interesting one with their cheap cable. Of course most were in random languages that he either hadn't bothered to learn, or hadn't spoken in such a long time that he barely remembered the most basic of words. Otherwise the shows were just of poor quality or lacked entertainment.

Jian was trying to entertain himself with folds of paper, and Viktor was staring boredly out the window. Overall, nothing exciting was going on. It took another half an hour before something important actually occurred.

"Welp, we didn't burn anything down." Sebastian blatantly stated while walking out of their "kitchen". Leonardo followed, pulling off his gloves and smiling proudly.

"Lunch is ready!" He exclaimed, though he didn't really need to. Everyone got up from where ever they were to inform anyone who wasn't there. Kasper went downstairs, going to wake up his brother, and Jean went outside to find out where Oliver and Allan might have wandered off.

"Andrew, do you mind fetching Feliciano? I think it's high time he eats." Luciano said after seeming to appear out of nowhere. Andrew nodded and opened the door to the freezer. Kuro gazed at him suspiciously.

"And where have _you _been?" Luciano's eyes seemed to glow for a moment before returning back to their "normal" state.

"Oh, I was just visiting an old _friend_." His smile grew, if that was even possible. Kuro raised an eyebrow.

"If you say so, _boss_." He spoke the last part rather sarcastically as Luciano walked off, ignoring both his tone and questioning.

Andrew opened the steel door the lead to their makeshift cell and saw Feliciano just barely stirring.

"Ey, you up yet shortstack?" He mumbled, poking him in the side with the tip of his hockey stick. Feliciano moved around a bit more, whispering something before earning a direct kick to the thigh.

"Ow!" He yelped as he jumped from his seat, only to land on the ground again.  
"Wha-?" He got cut off after seeing the ginormous size of Andrew who towered above him.

"Lunch." He stated calmly before gripping Feliciano's arm tightly and lifting him to his feet.  
"C'mon, if I take too long I won't hear the end of it."

Using his hockey stick, he pushed it into the square of Feliciano's back and motioned for him to go further. Hesitantly, he continued further ahead. Walking through the damp and dark hallway before finally coming outside into the blinding light. Not being used to such a bright source after being in near darkness for two, maybe three days, he shielded his eyes in a futile attempt to give his eyesight a chance to adjust.

Andrew took this opportunity to force Feliciano into a seat facing a wall. Dazed a bit from the sudden rotation of his body, Feliciano finally snapped back to reality and stared at the wall questioningly. There were tens of hundred of cuts embedded into wall, noting that someone was extremely angry at one point.

Suddenly a shadow engulfed his own and Feliciano turned his head to the right as quickly as he could. Once again he was facing Luciano, whose smile never seemed to seized existence.

"Buon pomeriggio, dear little Feliciano. How was your nap?" His hand found it's way to the back of the chair that he was now leaning against.

"F-fine." Feliciano blurted out, shaking in his spot. His alter ego scared him, terribly. And it was times like these where he wish he could be brave. But it was something that he couldn't manage.

"Well, it would seem that you haven't been properly introduced to everyone." He purred, twirling a knife in the opposing hand.  
"And you haven't eaten in a good while, hm? I say we fix these two minor problems." Without warning, he gripped the chair and spun it around violently. Clutching onto the sides of it for his dear life, Feliciano shut his eyes for a brief moment until the movement stopped altogether.

Opening his eyes afterwards and looking up, he pulled his attention towards a group that had collected behind him unknowingly. Most of them looked more than annoyed but sat there reluctantly. The section seemed to be separated into two groups, a large gap between both. Luciano stepped over to join them.

"As you already know, my name is Luciano Veneziano Vargas, and these are my companions." He said, motioning to the first and closest group. He stepped back and waited. The first to come forward was the relatively tall Asian man with cold blood eyes. His expression was blank and emotionless, almost seemingly identical to Kiku's.

"Kuro Honda." He stated before bowing. It was surprisingly respectful and Feliciano thought little of it. That was, until Kuro stood back up straight and a sly, murderous grin was plastered on his face. It made Feliciano shudder in his spot.

Next was the colossal German man that only seem to distinct from his 'original' by the fact that he had four fairly noticeable scars.

"Kasper." He said, violet eyes peeking out from under his tan cap. Feliciano noted the claw-like scar marks on the back of his arm. It created small questions as well as the scar laced with stitches on his cheek, obviously proving that whatever encounter he had was worth remembering.

Then came the quiet albino who looked fairly similar to his Gilbert, aside from the fact that he had four scars, each one on his face. One across his right eye, two across his nose, and a final one across his left cheek. He refused to make eye contact with Feliciano and simply waved.

"L-lanzo Beilschmidt..." He rushed back into line quickly, letting the next introduce himself.

"Ciao~ we met already! I'm Leonardo Vargas." The opposite smiled and Feliciano couldn't understand how he could be his brother's opposite. Yes, all of them seemed to be opposites in some way, but this one was _beyond_ opposite. The only thing that he could seem to relate was the style of his hair and position of his curl. Aside from that, without any previous knowledge he could easily be mistaken for someone else.

Or be considered a cousin.

Feliciano weakly waved back as Luciano pulled his brother behind. Next was the Spain look-alike, who seemed to have no interest in anything. His hair was the same shade, just longer and pulled back with a red ribbon. His eyes were a shade of purple, generally blank and slightly bland with his bored look.

"Sebastian Fernandez Carriedo." There was an obvious space between each name, giving each one time to sink in. The first group was finished and it was now the second's turn.

First came the jolly Englishmen, who had fed him the contaminated cupcake upon their first meeting.

"Ello! Glad to see you're okay! I'm sure I already introduced myself, but I guess I can do it again. I'm Oliver Kirkland." He barely was given a chance to step back before the next started.

"Allan, Allan F. Jones and don't forget it." Despite the heavily tinted shades, he was still able to see the crimson red eyes peering deep into his soul. He was roughly pulled back by the man he had came into far too many encounters with. He didn't even bother to step forward, he was one of the tallest in the room and his broad figure was enough to draw anyone's attention.

"Andrew Williams." His voice was strong and full of power, his glasses being pulled to be placed on the top of his head so he could look Feliciano right in the eyes. It caused him to slide farther back into his seat. The introductions continued despite this.

Next was a man who seemed to care a lot less about his appearance than anyone in the room. Even Feliciano, who had been manhandled and beaten, had still flattened his clothes and briefly combed his hair with his figures just so he wouldn't look like a complete train wreck.

"Jean Joc Bonnefoy." He had an intense poker face that made Feli uncomfortable. His clothes were wrinkled and his face, almost completely unshaved. His long hair was tangled every here and there, and bags were under his eyes.

Next was the towering Russian who was a bit less intimidating than his counterpart, simply because he didn't wear a fake smile.

"Viktor Braginski." He appeared to be just as tall and had the same attire, just a different color scheme, but his aura was a lot less... dark. Not by too much, just enough to lower the level of horror that the normal Russia seemed to produce. He also had bags under his eyes and the bored expression on his face seemed to stick.

Lastly was the smaller man standing next to Viktor.

"Jian Wang." This China, unlike the other, seemed a lot more laid back and appeared to have half a smile on his face. A hat covered much of his forehead and his hair was cut short, unlike his other. He seemed to have the same shade of blood red eyes as Kuro, _big surprise_. Also, his shirt collar covered much of his neck and barely stopped at his chin. Finally, the introductions that Luciano had forced the others to participate in were now over and, to be honest, Feliciano was just as relieved. But he didn't expect what was coming next.

"Well, now that that is over, we can finally eat." His smiled that had disappeared for a couple of minor seconds returned as he walked over to Feliciano. Abruptly, the chair was lifted up and Feliciano nearly fell off of it before it was once again spun around and he was placed next to a table. There were eight chairs total, two on each side, and plates in front of each one.

He looked questioningly at the scene before people started sitting down.

Viktor sat next to him, Kuro to his left. Luciano took his place across from Kuro, Jian sat next to him, seeming to refuse to sit next to his brother, who Lanzo was forced to take a seat by. Across from him, Sebastian and Leonardo took their seats and smiled happily. The others, except for Kasper, sat next to the TV, either in a wooden chair or on the couch.

Kasper came in with two steaming pot, filled with pasta and the _special sauce_, that he placed down on the table.

One by one, the plates were covered in the delicious meal as everyone waited patiently. It wasn't long before all had received their shares and they were able to eat. Feliciano picked at the food at first, before deciding to finally eat. Overall, the food was good and filled his stomach. But the sauce was odd and he almost gagged at first taste, but stopped himself since he didn't want to anger anyone.

Leonardo spoke happily to Sebastian and Jian talked to Viktor, stating obvious insults about his brother without a care in the world.

Luciano and Kuro seemed to be having a stare down and every so often one or the other would wince in pain. Confused and curious, he couldn't miss the fact that their bodies seemed to sway ever so slightly. It took him a moment to realize that they were kicking each other under the table. This caused him to raise an eyebrow but didn't think much about it, they were probably just joking around.

Then they engaged in a not so nice conversation, and he knew that they weren't just being _friends_.

"So. Kuro, your fight today was fairly entertaining. I didn't expect your counterpart to put up as little of a fight as he had. He's a real weakling isn't he?" Kuro sent a death glare across the table. Yes, maybe the two fought often and Kuro had sworn to have some sort of revenge, but _no one_ insulted Kiku as he had just done. Kuro still found himself as someone that would protect Kiku against such things.

"At least Kiku can put up a fight, unlike yours." He said through gritted teeth. Luciano only smiled, obviously noting that he was getting on the Asian's nerves.

"Well, if you would prefer that I'd talk about someone else, I would also love to say that your attack was rather sloppy as well. You just did whatever you thought was best and went along with it. Real sciocco if you ask me." He grinned as he wrapped another band of pasta around his fork and brought it up to his mouth, his eyes never leaving Kuro's as he took a bite.

Feliciano wasn't the only one who was watching the fight attentively. Kasper was glaring over his shoulder from the couch, and Jian had stopped talking to see everything unfold. Lanzo appeared uncomfortable with his position next to Kuro, but everyone else was mostly unphased.

"Well, if you'd like to talk about foolishness, then how about we start with that mafia of yours. Who's stupid idea was to start something like that? A bunch of idiots grouping together and calling themselves criminals? It only made you look like the baka here." Luciano's grip tightened on his fork.

"The Mafia was fratello's idea. And it has been very di successo." He started eating again, Feliciano had just about finished his entire plate and was now just sitting there, watching intensively. He would of asked for more, but it just didn't seem like the right moment.

"Of course it was. Your brother really is an idiot hm? But, I guess I can't be too surprised that you're related. Stupidity must run in your family." Luciano dropped his fork and looked back up at Kuro.

"Shut up idiota! You have no idea what you're talking about." He slipped back into his seat, sighing in disapproval. Kuro knew he now had now gained the upper hand in this argument.

"Of course I don't. I don't bother to look up things that would waste my precious time. Stupid things like the Italian Mafia; and just about anything else that has to do with your hakujaku country." Feliciano sunk back in his seat. Luciano wasn't the only one feeling offended.

"Andare all'inferno bastardo." Luciano stated firmly. A smile formed on Jian's face, but he covered it with his hand almost immediately. Kuro stood up, slamming his hands on the table.

"Gladly."

. . .

The fight started shortly after. Kuro and Luciano both rose from their seats and engaged in a heated battle. Though it seemed unfair, by the fact that Kuro had an entire sword whereas Luciano had a knife, he sure as hell knew how to use it.

Dodges and counters made up most of the battle, everyone was interested in watching the two rip each other apart.

Feliciano sat against the wall, trying to avoid the bloodshed that was raining down. Unlike the fight between Kuro and his counterpart, in this fight hits were being made often. Kuro's arm wound was reopened and Luciano had a newly received bruise on his hip from being thrown back into the table.

Minor cuts and whatnot started forming on both of their bodies. Not large enough to cause a bleed out, at least within the time being despite their fast paced heart beats, but being just big enough to cause their bodies to sting in agony. Blood was smeared into the floor and rubbed into objects that the two managed to run into during their tussle. Kasper sat at the sidelines, arms crossed and back against the wall. Sebastian walked up to him, no emotion in his face.

"You know, if they keep this up they'll kill each other."

"Yup."

"Should we stop them?"

"...Five more minutes." He mumbled lazily. Sebastian rolled his eyes before walking off, not wanting to be the one to pull the two apart. It's like trying to break apart two dogs locked jaw-to-jaw; you're bound to get bit. But five minutes was also plenty of time for the two to rip each other apart. Kuro made sure to keep his distance, getting too close increased the chance of being stabbed. You never wanted to be that close. You could almost be promised to die at that point.

But Luciano didn't only have one way of fighting.

Kuro went for the diagonal uppercut, trying to disable Luciano's good arm. Instinctively, Luciano jumped back to avoid the hit. But he didn't move fast enough, as the side of his hand was slit and his knife fell from his grip and out of reach.

"Damn." He murmured, ducking under another swing before sliding back until he was against the wall.

A good eight feet away from his opponent, Luciano rolled down his right sleeve, revealing a knife strapped to the inside of his arm with a leather band. Quickly slipping it out, he gripped it by the tip in his left hand and raised it behind his head.

Skillfully, he flung the knife towards Kuro who had little to no time to react. Jolting to the side, his right shoulder collided into the wall and the knife managed to slice deep into his cheek. Hissing in pain, Kuro placed his free hand over his now bloody cheek as the crimson liquid seeped down his chin and dripped onto his shoulder. It took him a moment to realize that Luciano was running towards him. Once again, he was unable to react in time as a punch landed to the side of his head.

Katana dropped to the ground and forgotten, the two fought bare handed.

Luciano had the upper hand at first, having landed on top he was able to pound Kuro's head into the ground. But the advantage was short lived once Kuro managed to get onto his side and lifted Luciano up and off of him as he was flipped over with large amounts of force. Landing on his back with a thud followed by a grunt, Kuro grabbed him by the neck and lifted him to his feet. Throwing him into the wall, it was now his turn to inflict pain. Two punches collided with his forehead, followed by a knee to the gut and then a small kick to the shin. Luciano winced but refused to stop fighting.

To break from Kuro's strong grip, Luciano headbutted him. While he was stunned, Luciano reached into his boot and pulled out a thin knife. Gripping it with his right hand as the other held Kuro in place, he raised it back and prepared to stab it square into his chest. But before his hand could even move Kasper grabbed his wrist and forced him to drop the knife to the floor.

It clanked loudly as Luciano sent Kasper death glares. The German did his best to ignore them and ushered Kuro to the side.

"Trust me, I love seeing you two rip each other limb from limb but this isn't the time or the place to be doing such a thing. If you don't remember, we're here for a reason." He crossed his arms disapprovingly and Luciano straightened himself up.

Kuro grabbed his katana and cleansed the blood off of it with a rag laying to the side, before placing it back in it's sheath. Luciano checked his wounds. He probably won't feel the full extent of them until morning, same going for Kuro. It took him a moment to notice Feliciano quivering in the corner. He sighed, not in the mood to deal with the coward.

"Someone take him back to his cell. He has seen enough for today." Andrew sighed, picking Feliciano up by his arm and dragging him back to his cell. The last thing Feliciano managed to see was the blood dripping down from Luciano's wrist.

* * *

Buon Pomeriggio = Good Afternoon (Italian)

Sciocco = Foolish (Italian)

Baka = Idiot (Japanese)

Fratello = Brother (Italian)

Di Successo = Success (Italian)

Idiota = Idiot (Italian)

Hakujaku = Weak (Japanese)

Andare all'inferno Bastardo = Go to Hell Bastard (Italian)

**A/N: Another fight scene for the win! I had to really figure out how this would work out, specifically because I wanted the two to be equal power wise. I'd imagine they would get on each other's nerves quite a bit, which was kind of the idea behind the whole chapter. I wanted to scare Italy shitless while making things interesting. This is what happened :D**


	10. Chapter 10: I Wanted You Dead

**CHAPTER TEN**

**I Wanted You Dead**

Lovino sighed, he was unhappy and bored. They were back to square one again, nothing of their previous progress was left. The bastards burned everything, even the note and picture.

_Nothing_.

They had nothing left. It was now about just trying to remember what they had before everything happened. Something that people were arguing over, claiming false fact after fact. It was really annoying him and if he didn't get out of this terrible atmosphere his head was bound to explode, mentally and maybe even physically if he tried hard enough.

Finally tired of all of this, Lovino roughly slid his chair back and stood up. He began the motions to slip on his jacket as he spoke to his companion.

"Oi Spain! Tell the potato-bastard that I'm going for a walk. Be back later."

"Be careful Lovi!" Antonio called out behind him. Lovino lazily waved a hand at him, not even looking back or commenting on the nickname.

Once he was outside, he wasn't sure where he was planning to go. He didn't have any money on him, so heading to get some food was not an option. So what if he'd just had lunch a couple of hours before noon? He was still hungry. As much as he would've loved to head home, too far of a walk. He wasn't planning to head a couple of miles out, just a good ten minutes or so of fresh air and thinking room.

Then it hit him, the park. It was barely a couple of blocks down and would likely be empty this early. Kids are in school and people are working, that's just how things roll. A good ten or so minutes later, Lovino arrives at the brass gate labeled "Adams National Park".

Whatever, he didn't care whoever Adam was and why he's so important, Lovino was just here to clear his mind.

Talking a couple of steps in, his predictions were right. Nobody's here, too early for that. He'll have plenty of alone time without anyone barging in on his thoughts.

So his adventure began.

He had lots of thinking to do. For one, he didn't exactly grasp this whole "One-P" and "Two-P" thing that well. How could there be two Italies?! Yes there was North and South, but another copy of those? He couldn't believe that.

It didn't help with the fact that Arthur had shouted something about Two-Ps being in the room, then when he went to look they were long gone and Alfred was running after them at high speeds with Ludwig. He didn't even have a mental imagine to make him understand.

But the concept of opposites seemed... familiar.

It was something that was on the tip of his tongue but he couldn't say. Whatever it was, he needed to figure out what before it came back to bite him in the ass. Unfortunately, he didn't see it coming any faster than it did.

While he was mumbling to himself he didn't notice the figure creeping up behind him.

"Stupid opposites bullshit taking my brother. Those damn bastards. If I find them I'll wring their necks an-" His sentence wasn't finished. It couldn't be finished. He was cut off rather abruptly by a cheery voice.

"That's not very nice _fratello_." Lovino stopped in his spot, his eyes widening.

"F-feli?" He asked, turning quickly on his heel. His heart fell with what he saw. A sharp intake of breath and the widening of eyes only made the figure before him smile expand a bit bigger.

"Close." The man said. "But not close enough." The knife seemed to come out of nowhere, swirling briefly around the other's finger before landing in his grip.

"Who are you?" Lovino asked, his voice was stern but his face showed otherwise.

"What, you don't recognize your own _brother_?" The man smiled deviously and placed the flat end of his knife to his cheek.

"You're not my brother... Who are you?" Lovino took a single step back as the man bowed before standing up.

"Luciano Veneziano Vargas, at your service." This man, he seemed so familiar. Not just by the fact that his characteristics resembled his brother, but something else along the lines.

As if they had met each other before.

"It's been _so long_ since we last saw each other. About fifty years don't you say?" _Fifty years? What the hell happened fifty years ago... _

"And it would seem that you haven't change a bit either. You're still just as loud-mouthed as you were before. You just don't know when to _shut up _hm?" Lovino swallowed down an insult that was bound to come out if he didn't bite his tongue.

"What are you talking about?" He blurted out but was quickly silenced by a knife being placed at his neck.

"Don't pretend that you don't remember me, or are you really just that stupido? I guess you always were anyway." The knife was removed so it could be replaced with a gloved hand. It closed around his neck but made no action to choke.

"I don't..." Lovino was lost for words, he couldn't remember. _Why couldn't he remember. _

"That's not why I came here though." He removed his hand and the smile returned to his face, but only for a short amount of time. Lovino raised an eyebrow.

"Why are you here then?" Luciano frowned.

"Because someone decided to spill my little secret." _Secret? What is he- _

_Goddammit_

Lovino remembered it now. It was something he tried to so hard forget. It was during the very beginning of World War II, his brother was acting weird. A lot weirder than normal to say the least. He wasn't always as happy and cheery as he usually was, he was acting a bit... murderous. It took him a moment to realize the change. The eyes were the most obvious.

For one, they were opened.

And another, they weren't the regular brown but an odd violet shade. His skin was a bit more tan as well, but that couldn't really be noted unless you saw a side-by-side comparison.

Once he discovered the truth he confronted the man.

He remember that night like it was painted in his mind and stuck there forever, something he would have to wake up to and look at because it would never go away.

. . .

_Lovino walked down the quiet corridor that lead to the library. _

_Feliciano was in there. He was always in there at times like this. _

_Not that he ever read. _

_He would just watch the small fire that was lit every night in the small fireplace. He would watch the flames rise and fall, trying to crawl their way out of their small cage but never making it that far. _

_It fascinated him.  
_

_But Lovino knew the man sitting in that room in his favorite rosy red chair was not his brother, but a monster. One of inhuman capabilities that he was willing to use at any point in time. He opened the door slowly, quietly, making sure that his presence was not known. Stepping in but not bothering to close the door, he came in further. _

_Just as he had predicted, his brother sat there and calmly watched the red flames. Lovino walked up behind him. He didn't want to startle his brother, who had recently picked up the hobby of carrying a knife with him wherever he went. Another obvious change. He didn't know if he was just being paranoid about the war and chance of assassination, though that seemed more probable for someone such as their boss, he still attacked anything that snuck up on him; as long as it moved. _

"_Buonasera fratello." Lovino stopped in his place, he obviously wasn't as quiet as he thought. _

_"Evening." He replied quickly before continuing his strides towards his brother. The man in the chair sighed. _

_"You really shouldn't sneak up on people fratello..." he murmured rather darkly. The only thing that could be seen was his right hand, which was covered with a tan sleeve. _

_Wait, tan sleeve? _

_Since when did his brother decide to change the color scheme of his uniform? It had always been blue. Blue, blue, blue. That was his brother's color and it seemed that he could never choose another over it._

"_I'll keep that in mind..." He muttered as he stopped behind the massive chair. _

_"So fratello, how is everything going with the war?" Feliciano moved his hand around as he spoke, stereotypical Italian action. _

_"Fine, but I hate siding with that macho potato guy. It's so stupid." He let out an aggravated huff. Feliciano stood from his seat and walked over to stand directly in front of the fireplace. Lovino noticed the small hat placed on his head. What the- _

_"Shame." Shame? Shame!? His brother never said shame, it just wasn't something that would slip off of his tongue._

_Ever. _

_Lovino had enough of this, he stepped forward and his hands turned into balls, knuckles growing white._

_"Alright you bastard, who are you and what have you done with Veneziano?!" The other just chuckled, not even looking back. _

"_I don't know what you're talking about." His teeth gritted, arm tingled at the amount of anger flowing through his pulse. _

_"Stop pretending you bastardo, I know you're not him. So where did you put him stronzo!?" Feliciano (?) turned around, a dark grin on his face. The knife he had a new habit of carrying around was in his hand, the tip pressed against his lip. _

_"Ah... fratello that's not very nice. Maybe I should cut that disrespectful tongue of yours out of your mouth." He hissed, swaying the knife back and forth. Lovino paled slightly but stood his ground. "What have you done with him." The other laughed again. "And I thought my brother was stupid. But you would seem to beat him on that mark." Lovino's face turned red, truly out of rage. He wanted to go over there and strangle this man, but he couldn't. Because he was scared. _

_"My name is Luciano. Remember it, because it will be the last thing you will hear before I tie you down and cut open your stomach, so you can die a slow and painful death." His voice was cheery, despite the phrase. Lovino had to run, and leave. He couldn't take on this man, especially without a weapon. His best chance was to run and escape this psychopath._

_So that's what he did. He turned around a bolted, running from the room and down the hall. All he heard was the lunatic laugh. "You can't escape fratello!" He ran faster. The front door wasn't far from there, he could make it if he just tried hard enough. He broke out into a full sprint, hearing the footsteps behind him as well speed up. He couldn't die now, he wasn't ready to. The front door was within his reach. He latched out and grabbed the knob, turning it quickly. _

_It wouldn't move._

_He tried again and again and again but it wouldn't budge. He was locked in. "How the hell?" He thought, then he remembered that the door could be locked from the outside. "Stupid ass design." He muttered before turning around. The key, where did he keep that damn key? Ah, yes! In the kitchen, he had one in the kitchen that hung on a rack. _

_Hopefully Luciano wouldn't get there first... it had gotten suspiciously quiet. He had turned around, expecting a knife to collide with his forehead. But then there was nothing. Nothing at all. There was no way he had lost the bastard, did he? Wouldn't this be the most obvious escape? No, he must of locked it himself. Probably hiding near another exit to ambush him. That wasn't going to happen._

_Cautiously, Lovino stalked down the hallways. He checked every corner and every crevice for any signs of the maniac. He couldn't get jumped at a time like this. The kitchen, why did it have to be so damn far away from the front door? Why did you have to walk down several hallways in order to reach the most used room in the entire household?! Another stupid design flaw, they really should've thought this out better. _

_Walking down one hall and into a door and he was finally in the grand kitchen. It was big, yes, but had no servants. Not at the moment at least, most of them had to be fired in order to increase funds for the war. He ran over to their fridge and checked the side. Just like they had always been, the keys were hanging on the wooden rack next to it. He snatched it quickly and then turned around, preparing to bolt._

_He never had a chance._

_He let out a scream as his hand fell to the newly placed incision on his leg. He felt the warm liquid flow down his thigh as he fell to his knee, grinding his teeth in pain. He looked up, seeing Luciano smiling down at him. "Did you really think it would be that easy fratello?" Lovino cursed under his breath at the pain streaking through his muscles. _

_"You're no brother of mine, bastardo." Luciano frowned, obviously unhappy with the response. _

_A newer, far worse wave of pain ripped through him as Luciano launched his knife deep into Lovino's leg. Screams erupted, followed by animalistic laughter as Luciano stared at his victim. He knelt down to the other's level, meeting him eye-to-eye."Listen idiota, if you tell anyone about this I will find you and I will finish you off. That is a promise I will keep. And once I kill you, I'll wipe out the rest of your family too. There will be no traces of the Vargas family left for anyone to see. So if you know what's good for you, keep quiet." _

_Those were Luciano's final words before he walked out of the house, never looking back._

...

That day scared Lovino for life, any remembrance of the dark figure that had claimed to be his brother for weeks on end, was forever carved into his memory. So he did anything and everything he could to forget it. Antonio had found Lovino, three days later, unconscious in his own blood in the kitchen. It was a miracle he survived, as if it had taken any longer he would have fallen.

He was then plowed with questions, from police all the way to companions. Antonio asked a few times, but after receiving no answer he gave up. But there was no way Lovino could keep such a secret for the rest of his life.

Who could he tell? Luciano had threatened that if he did then he would surely die, but how would he find out? It was nearly impossible for such a thing to happen, especially after his brother returned from his disappearance. Lovino was convinced that the monster was gone, and he was, at the least, safe. And what if he only told _one_ person, someone who wouldn't tell anyone else?

That was the best idea he had, at the moment. But who would he ask? He couldn't tell Feliciano, that would break his brother's fragile heart. The Potato-Bastard was out of the question, as well as the quiet Japanese man he barely conversed with. Most others were at war with him, they wouldn't listen. So who?

Antonio. That was the only person he could trust, was the tomato-bastard that had raised him and been his friend for god knows how long. He needed to get this secret off his chest, even if it meant he had a chance of dying as a cause of it. So, while he was still in the hospital, he told him everything. Starting from when his brother first started acting weird to that terrible, terrible night. It was a couple of hours worth of story, but Antonio was very interested. After spilling his guts to his self proclaimed best friend, Antonio gave him a comforting hug before departing, as visitor hours were over.

He never really thought that day would come back to haunt him, as it had made him feel better. He almost forgot it after those dreadful years full of war. Almost anything that happened aside from the fights and the bloodshed was forgotten in general. But it seems that his past was coming back and now he was being forced to face one of his worst nightmares.

"Ah, I see you remember me now." Luciano's smile returned. "I don't understand." Lovino whispered. "Who told you?" Luciano laughed that psychopathic laugh again, smile never fading. "Quite a mystery isn't it? I was confused too, when Sebastian came up to me and told me he had seen something. A vision was it? No, not at all. It was a memory. Someone else's memory. It took us awhile to figure out who, but we figured it out later.

"You see, it would seem that us, Two-Ps, as you would seem to refer, share memories with our One-Ps. It takes a very long time for us to receive each other's memories though, so they could easily be mistaken for something we have done in the past. Unless you know what it means. Our Spain received your Spain's memory of that day, which he shared with me. You were smart, Lovino, I admit." He began to walk back and forth, pacing somewhat.

"If it wasn't for this one little thing you may have gotten away with it. But I am a man of my word, as you can tell, and I have come to fulfill my promise I made. Even if it was fifty years ago."

* * *

Antonio tapped his pencil on the table impatiently. Lovino had been gone for how long, a half an hour or so? It may not have been too long but he was still worrying. With all the mayhem going on, who wouldn't be nervous? He needed to make sure that his friend was safe. He already wasn't sure about one Italian, he had to make sure that he didn't lose the other.

It seemed that his impatience was noticeable, as Ludwig eyed him before walking over to him. He asked what's wrong, in which Antonio replied he was simply worried. Ludwig nodded, understanding his worry. "Go find him, we need the extra hands anyway. There's way too much paperwork."

He barely got to finish his sentence before Antonio was out the door and rushing around the streets, trying to find his companion. That couldn't be too hard... right? Lovino wouldn't go too far, he'd either get bored or tired and head back. His questions though were, unfortunately, quickly answered when he turned the corner and bumped into someone. The two tumbled back into a wall and Antonio found himself facing Lovino. "Lovi!" He said, death hugging the other man who was unable to put up much of a fight.

"Get off me you bastard! If we don't keep moving then-" He couldn't finish his sentence as a knife was jabbed into the wooden wall right next to his head. "Consider that a warning idioti." Luciano hissed as he removed the small blade.

Lovino stumbled back farther as he tripped over his own words. "T-that's him." He stuttered, Antonio looked at him confused. Then he realized what he meant. It was so obvious after all.

"Luciano?" He asked. He always thought back to the story and the night that he was told, multiple times. He just wondered if it was true, or if it was simply an assassin that figured he would let his target suffer and took disguise. But Lovino had described his attacker in such great detail it seemed almost impossible.

"Sì." The violet eyed man smiled. "_And I'm here to kill you_."

* * *

Stupido = Stupid (Italian)

Buonasera = Good Evening (Italian)

Fratello = Brother (Italian)

Stronzo = Asshole (Italian)

Bastardo = Bastard (Italian)

Idioti = Idiots (Italian)

Sì = Yes (Italian)

**A/N: Ah yes, more history lessons. Decided to explain it in a flashback form rather than pure dialogue. I guess it worked. Poor Lovi~ Luciano won't leave him alone for shit. **

_**'Cause two can keep a secret if one of them is dead.**_


	11. Chapter 11: Smile

**CHAPTER ELEVEN**

**Smile**

The struggle began, fight swerving into an alleyway, much to Luciano's advantage. No one could witness them being stabbed. Antonio faced off against the other alone, saying it was far too dangerous for Lovino to try and intervene. Luciano was in control, that's how it seemed at the least. But the fight turned around quickly. With minor aid from the other, Antonio overpowered the attacker and disarmed him.

The battle was somewhat easy, as he quickly learned the cause for this was due to the fact that Luciano was forced to use, what was assumed to be, his bad hand. The other was bandaged tight, small amounts of blood seeping through the wrap and becoming visible, as well as a couple of other minor wounds. Despite this, they didn't question it. They had a lead now, something that could help them. Especially after most of their previous research was trashed.

Through massive amounts of teamwork and sneakiness, Luciano was escorted back to the World Building without another word. Obviously, the two took the back streets to avoid the assumptions of kidnapping. They hauled Luciano in front of their designated room and threw open the door. Dragging him inside, all eyes fell upon them with plenty of questioning gazes and glares. "C-ciao." Lovino muttered between breaths. A brief minute of quick explanations was spouted out before everyone understood the situation relatively well. Alfred and Ludwig helped them tie Luciano to a chair, more than happy that someone managed to catch him.

But Ludwig saw this as also being suspicious and couldn't help but wonder. _Two appearances in the same day? It's barely been five hours since we last saw him..._ He thought of this as a possible ploy of some sort, but pushed the thought to the side as Luciano's chair was put in the center of the room.

His head began dipping forward, eyes closed. It was as if he had fallen unconscious. Antonio and Lovino shrugged, not really thinking they had done _that_ much damage to him. The group shuffled to another section of the room, debating on what to do next. "We should get information out of him, da?" Ivan said, smiling with his pipe in hand. Though it was a nice idea, they needed Luciano to be alive and comprehensible. "We should have a non-lethal interrogation." Arthur stated, eying the Russian. Majority won vote-wise and they decided that they would just see if they could get this guy to talk.

Yao went off to fetch Kiku since they figured, if anything, he would be able to help getting some information out of their prisoner. Despite the two missing they still began, compiling him with questions of all sorts. But, as they had expected, Luciano refused to answer any of them. Every so often he would glimpse in the direction of the door, and then back at the crowd around him. Arthur quickly took note of this, and questioned what he was going to do. It was nearly impossible for him to escape. His weapons had been confiscated, and even if he did manage to remove the ropes he wouldn't be able to fight through everybody. _What are you planning Luciano?_ Arthur wondered.

He looked around the room, scanning on all the faces. He frowned. They were all full of anger and agony. All of them, sad and disturbed. A pang of guilt erupted in his chest. It was his fault that they were all like this. He had brought these monsters into their world, their universe. He was the reason that Feliciano was suffering. He hadn't seen them all like this since... since 1939.

World War II.

That war was a dreadful one full of pain and suffering. It had torn apart friendships and families. Arthur considered himself lucky. His family was, if anything, one of the least affected. If anything, their bonds grew greatly and he felt much closer to his brothers. But others weren't as fortunate.

Yao was one of them. His family was nearly split in half thanks to his brother's betrayal. He remembered after the attack, Im Yong Soo had a major outburst, enraged and wanting to get revenge on his older brother. Mei had cried, her family was just about destroyed now. She always liked Kiku, and was glad that they were related, even if it wasn't blood wise. She looked up to him and cared for him, and what does he do?

He attacks their eldest brother. The others had been quiet, far too shocked or confused to have any major reactions. They couldn't believe that Kiku would attack the man that raised and cared for him when no one else would.

Ludwig was also hurt greatly. His older brother was torn away from him, stolen away by the Allies and, specifically, the Soviet Union. They couldn't see each other, they couldn't talk to each other, they couldn't even mention each other. Gilbert was gone, and no one could do anything about it. His country was abolished, became nothing more than a piece of history.

Alfred and Kiku's friendship was demolished as well. Though, they did become friends again afterwards, the bombing of Pearl Harbor as well as the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki tore holes in the fabric. They couldn't look each other in the eyes for a good couple of years, and it took just as long for their people to recover. But... the war was over and things changed drastically.

Arthur remembered it like it was yesterday.

_The taxi driver pulled to the side of the road and peered into the back seat. Arthur handed him the specific amount of USD and stepped out of the cab. He had been driven all the way from a nearby airport and stopped about a block away from his destination. It was the first World Meeting since the war had ended and everyone was excited. _

_The meeting was being held in New York City, it was time for everyone to see old friends and what not. They had all been focusing so much on repairing their own countries, that they hadn't taken the time to visit others. It was time to put the past behind them and get back to the ways things used to be, if that was even possible. Kiku would likely be shunned in the United States for a good bit of time, many never being forgiven for his actions. But it just didn't seem to make much sense to anyone, how could such a calm country do such a vulgar act? _

_So he began his walk down the street. He hadn't seen anyone else at the airport, but then again he had arrived early so he would be able to take his time to walk. He wanted to see the scenery, and see how his former brother was doing. When he had heard of the bombing he was devastated, and heavily worried along with the rest of the Allies. _

_But it seemed that it only increased Alfred's determination to finish it all, so the innocent lives and families wouldn't have to suffer anymore. So he had two bombs flown over Japan and dropped before anyone could stop him. That sure did it, and Kiku convinced his bosses that it was time to surrender and that they had lost. _

_When the news arrived that the surrender was official, everyone was ecstatic. The pain and misery of thousands of lives was over. The Nazis were gone, along with their leader and everyone was safe again. At least, as safe as they could get. Arthur continued down the road, humming to himself. He kept his head up, watching out for any fellow countries that may wander by. But then again, he heavily doubted it. Then he stopped in his feet, figuring he heard familiar voices. Not behind or in front of him, but to his side. He looked to his right, raising an eyebrow as he heard laughter not to far from where he stood. Across the street to be specific, at the park._

_Checking his watch quickly, he was glad to see that he was ten minutes ahead of schedule and this quick stop wouldn't harm him from being able to get there before most, if not all of the others. Crossing in an intersection, he walked into the park and scanned for anyone he knew. He could still hear the laughter, just couldn't locate its source. So he kept searching. Then he stopped abruptly. A few yards ahead of him was a sight that made him smile. _

_There they were, the former axis, sitting under a large oak tree. Kiku sat in the middle between the two, laughing and smiling with the rest. They were all bandaged up, a cloth was patched to Ludwig's cheek and a couple of teeth were knocked out. Feliciano had two crossing bandages on his forehead and on his nose. Kiku's forehead was wrapped tightly, as well as his arm. Despite their wounds, they were still smiling and sharing jokes with each other. It lightened Arthur's heart. _

_They didn't seem to notice him, too lost in their conversation to bid him any attention. Arthur shrugged it off and left, continuing and eventually arriving at the building._

_He stepped inside, and searched the halls. He had expected them to be barren, but instead caught glimpse of a familiar figure. His eyes lit up when he saw the retreating back of his friend. "Alfred!" He blindly called out, rushing up to him. The other turned around and smiled, waving a hand. Arthur slowed down as he neared him and spotted the other's arm. "Hey Artie!" He turned to fully face him. His right arm was wrapped in a cast and pressed up against his chest. Ignoring the nickname as well as he could, he continued. "How are you doing? Your country seems to be prospering... well." Alfred nodded. _

"_We're recovering quickly I suppose. I'm just glad that everyone's safe. That war really stressed out everybody." Arthur couldn't help but agree. "I hope everyone is able to fully recover. Friend or enemy, they are in the same predicament as the rest of us." Alfred's large smile turned to a small smirk. "War's finally over... thank goodness." He murmured. He didn't seem to be talking to anyone, and his gaze turned towards the carpeting. _

_"We can finally smile again."_

Arthur was snapped out of his thoughts by two arms shaking him furiously. "Arthur! Arthur are you okay?!" Alfred was behind it all, what a coincidence. Arthur pushed him away. "Get off of me you bloody git!" The other stepped back and gave the much required personal space. Arthur cleansed himself of the non existing dirt and realized that he must of zoned out, causing everyone to panic.

Yao had returned, hauling behind him a conscious but weakly dazed Kiku. "My apologizes. I seem to have been elsewhere." He muttered, assuring everyone that he was fine and that Luciano hadn't used some sort of "mind trick" on him. He sighed in disappointment that they would even consider that as a possibility but didn't comment.

Arthur sat down at the table and watched as the others continued their interrogation. Kiku sat quietly in the back, a bored expression on his face. He used another chair to support himself. He was still weak, despite the large amounts of sleep he had obtained. Talking of sleep, he was getting tired as well as the rest of the group. They had been up for far too long with little to no rest. If they kept this up, they wouldn't have enough energy to save Feliciano. Or themselves. Ludwig took a seat not too far from him, dark and heavy bags under his eyes. It would seem enough was enough.

Arthur stood again, interrupting the interrogation that wasn't getting anywhere. He cleared his throat to draw the attention of any stragglers before starting. "I think it's time that you all should get some sleep. You've been up for far too long. I'll stay up and watch our prisoner while everyone else sleeps. Whether you choose to go home or not is entirely up to you." He returned to his seat and waited for the other's replies. Most decided to go to their houses, since it would be best for them to clean up and sleep in a real bed.

The only that decided otherwise was Alfred, who wanted to stay and help keep watch. Kiku also decided the same, already wide awake anyways.

"Then it's settled. I'll see you again at sunrise tomorrow. Then we'll continue this... meeting." People quickly began piling out of the room, leaving the three to sit in their chairs and watch Luciano, who was more or less interested in it all. But once the hallway cleared of boots stomping against the floor, and the front door closed for the last time, a smile crept on him face. It was a devious one, and the fact that his violet eyes seemed to glow and make their appearance from under his bangs just added to the devious appearance.

For the first time since he had arrived, he sat up straight and tall. Despite the fact that his arms were restrained to his sides, he still was just as menacing. The three stared at him, confused and nervous at what his motivation may be. Luciano met the stares of each and everyone one of them for a split second before locking eyes with Kiku. The smile grew bigger, causing the other to shrink in his seat. "So, teste di merda."

"_Let's play_."

* * *

Teste Di Merda = Shit heads (Italian)

**A/N: Moar flashbacks. Hope it helped give you an idea of the emotional state that most of the countries were in during WWII. I haven't forgotten that there are a LOT more 1ps that I haven't talked about, and I plan to change that in the next few chapters. More characters, more mayhem, and more seductions for the win. c:**


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